How the Moon may one day give us 25-hour days

Scientists say Earth’s orbit is slowing as
Moon moves further away

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Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have
worked out that around 1.4 billion years ago, a day on Earth
lasted 18 hours. “This is at least in part because the Moon was
closer and changed the way the Earth spun around its axis,” the
Daily Mirror reports.

The “groundbreaking” discovery –  described in a paper in
journal Proceeding of the National Academy of Science –
was made using astrochronology, a
statistical method that links astronomical
theory with geological observation,
and that could potentially help uncover many mysteries of the
universe.

The researchers were able to determine that the Moon is
moving away from the Earth at a rate of 3.82cm a year, The Daily Telegraph reports. At that rate,
a full day on Earth will extend to 25 hours – in about 200 million
year’s time. 

Professor Stephen Meyers, the author of the report,
says: “The [Earth’s] geologic record is an astronomical
observatory for the early solar system.

“One of our ambitions was to use astrochronology to tell
time in the most distant past, to develop very ancient geological
time scales.” 

Although the Moon has been moving away from the Earth for more
than a billion years, The Guardian says the process won’t continue
forever. 

At some point in the distant future, the Moon will “reach
a stable distance” and will only be visible from one side of Earth,
the newspaper says.