How Japan’s Earthquake Altered the Earth’s Time

The Takeaway

The earthquake in Japan devastated a country, but it also had a geological effect on the earth, changing the length of our days. According to physicists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, last week’s earthquake actually resulted in our days being shortened by 1.8 microseconds. Dr. Jean Dickey, a physicist with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory explains that the mass of the earth changed in such a way that the rotation changed. However, she says that the days change fairly often following atmospheric changes and that, while the earthquake had a devastating effect on Japan, the length of the day is not something to be concerned about.

Will you support The World with a monthly donation?

Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you. We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

Make a gift today, and you’ll help us unlock a matching gift of $67,000!