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'Earth turned faster at the end of the time of the dinosaurs than it does today, rotating 372 times a year, compared to the current 365, according to a new stud
by olivermarks 7y ago
'Earth turned faster at the end of the time of the dinosaurs than it does today, rotating 372 times a year, compared to the current 365, according to a new study of fossil mollusk shells from the late Cretaceous'.
I can't begin to imagine the forces that made this happen!
- Balgair 7y agoIt's the lunar tide. https://bowie.gsfc.nasa.gov/ggfc/tides/intro.html https://bowie.gsfc.nasa.gov/ggfc/tides/intro.html
- hinkley 7y agoDidn’t we already know this, for quite a long time? I feel like I learned about this 20 years ago and I’m confused as to why it’s news today.
- njarboe 7y agoYes we did. This is a press-release (It's right in the URL). Unfortunately AGU has gone down hill recently in its attempt to engage a wider audience and now you are getting the click bait "Ancient shell shows days were half-hour shorter 70 million years ago" instead of a more sober one about what the study is really about. The journal paper's title is "Subdaily‐Scale Chemical Variability in a Torreites Sanchezi Rudist Shell: Implications for Rudist Paleobiology and the Cretaceous Day‐Night Cycle". So maybe at title for the scientifically interested general public could be, "70 million year old Rudist shells improve length of day estimates during the late Cretaceous"
- olivermarks 7y agoMy comment was more a romantic one about the forces in play rather than a literal question. I'm also in awe of our solstice declination moments.
- Balgair 7y agoOops! My bad!