A scientist said that June 29, 2022 was the shortest day ever on Earth.
That day was Wednesday, which was 1.59 milliseconds shorter than before.
This happens because the Earth is not a perfect sphere and can "wobble" around its axis.
This summer, Earth had its shortest day ever due to a wobble on 's axis , meaning it completed one rotation in a fraction of a second in less than 24 hours.
According to the monitored data, June 29 was 1.59 milliseconds shorter than 86,400 seconds (that is, 24 hours).
In recent decades, the Earth's speed is more likely to have slowed, making the days slightly longer. But over the past few years, that trend has reversed, with the days getting shorter.
If the Earth continues to accelerate, this could lead to the first ever requirement to subtract one second from the atomic clock .
It's not unusual for the Earth to wobble - the rotation we experience day and night doesn't always line up exactly with its axis, the one between the North and South Pole.
This is because it's not an exact sphere.
The planet has a bulge at the equator and is slightly pinched at the poles, meaning the Earth has a slightly oval shape.
Other factors also affect rotation, including ocean tides and the gravity of the moon.
Mathematics professor Leonid Zotov believes that the Earth may be spinning faster due to a periodic motion called a "Chandler wobble."
This wobble first appeared in the late 1880s, when astronomer Seth Carroll Chandler noticed the poles wobbling for 14 months.
This volatility reportedly began to slow down in the early 2000s, reaching all-time lows since 2017.
Earth shaking does not change much in daily life. However, it is important to keep track so that the atomic clocks can remain accurate to precisely coordinate GPS and Earth observation satellites.
