July 9 expected to be shortest day on record
Wednesday, July 9 may be the shortest day on record, according to scientists.
A BBC Sky at Night report details that timekeepers at the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service say earth will likely complete its full rotation approximately 1.3–1.6 milliseconds faster than the standard 24 hours.
The gravitational pull of the moon is what the report points to as the deciding factor in shaving off a millisecond or two from the planet’s rotation. However, it clarifies that those milliseconds matter for GPS, telecommunications, satellite navigation and more.
With scientists tracking increasing instances of shorter days since 2020, several more are predicted for 2025, on July 22 and August 5.
The report says scientists used to add ‘leap seconds’, an extra second to the clocks in December or in June, right at the end of the day, to allow Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to keep up with the speed of the earth, and ensure things like satellite navigation ran smoothly.
Now, with the increase scientists may for the first time have to shave off a second.
