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A problem with a similar flavor: how long does it take the earth to rotate once on its axis? The answer is about 23h56m. However, after that time, the earth ha
by School-Cotton 3y ago
A problem with a similar flavor: how long does it take the earth to rotate once on its axis?
The answer is about 23h56m. However, after that time, the earth has also moved slightly relative to the sun, so it takes another four minutes for the earth to rotate enough such that the sun is at the same point in the sky as it started at. Hence why we consider a day to be 24h.
- euroderf 3y agoAnd 365 days x ~4 minutes = ~1460 minutes, i.e. 24 hours. And in a year, the Earth rotates on its axis ~366 times ?
- School-Cotton 3y ago> And in a year, the Earth rotates on its axis ~366 times ? Yes, exactly.
- boneitis 3y agoI never pass up the opportunity to use the couple of cool words whenever this topic crops up. It is the distinction between a solar day and a sidereal day. :)