Moon is making the days on Earth longer

A study shows evidence that as the distance between Earth and the moon increases year by year, the days are getting longer.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison claim that moon continues to move away from Earth at 3.82 cm. a year. They have found that 1.4 billion years ago the moon orbited much closer to the planet, altering the way it spins on its axis. As a result, a day was once only 18 hours. 

It is obvious that somehow the distance between the Earth and moon is related to the angular velocity of the Earth around its axis. Stephen Meyers, professor of geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of the study, said: "As the moon moves away, the Earth is like a spinning figure skater who slows down as they stretch their arms out." However the augmenation of the daytime is not notable in the manner that people perceive time. A few years ago, astronomer Britt Scharringhausen estimated that in 100 years, the day will be two milliseconds longer. Therefore, we or the next generations will not be affected by this phenomenon.

The scientists at UW reached their findings, which were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, by drawing on astronomy and geology. Using a statistical method called astrochronology, they examined billion-year-old rock sediment and reconstruct a history of the solar system through geological indicators. Professor Meyers states: "One of our ambitions was to use astrochronology to tell time in the most distant past, to develop very ancient geological time scales. We want to be able to study rocks that are billions of years old in a way that is comparable to how we study modern geologic processes."

Scientists must now investigate whether the moon's rate of movement has always been constant in its 4,5 billion years history. For now, the moon continues to move away from Earth each year. According to Meyers' team's research, days will continue to get longer as time goes on, whether or not these changes will be perceptible in the near future.