Has a day on Earth always consisted of 24 hours? Interesting facts you didn't know

The Earth makes a complete rotation around its axis in 24 hours. This period indicates the end of the day. Consistent changes in the planet's position helped people develop a reliable time system. However, the period of rotation has not always been the same.

Many years ago, the length of a day was significantly different from the current one, Live Science writes. According to Sarah Millholland, an assistant professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in different historical periods, days on Earth were both shorter and longer.

Researchers claim that our planet originally made a complete rotation around its axis in less than 10 hours. The rapid change in position was the result of a collision with a Mars-sized protoplanet, which provoked an increase in the Earth's angular momentum. This was due to the detachment of a large enough part of the Earth's surface to form the Moon. Konstantin Batygin, a professor of planetary science at the California Institute of Technology, says that over time, the tidal effect of the satellite slowed the planet's rotation speed, which reached 19 hours.

According to scientists, the length of the Earth's day is still changing. Despite the fact that this happens at a slow rate, the day increases by 1.7 milliseconds every century.

"The change in the Earth's rotation speed is gradual enough for evolutionary processes to adapt. The relative change in orbital velocity will not be noticeable in everyday life," explained Konstantin Batygin.

The main factor slowing down the movement of our planet is the Moon, which is gradually moving away from its surface. This process is happening too slowly, so it may take more than 200 years for the length of the day to reach 25 hours.

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