Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Chilean Quake Likely Shifted Earth’s Axis, NASA Scientist Says


Just remember it has happened, but you'll never know it.

The earthquake that killed more than 700 people in Chile on Feb. 27 probably shifted the Earth’s axis and shortened the day, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientist said.

[snip]

The length of the day should have gotten shorter by 1.26 microseconds (millionths of a second),” Gross, said today in an e-mailed reply to questions. “The axis about which the Earth’s mass is balanced should have moved by 2.7 milliarcseconds (about 8 centimeters or 3 inches).”
I can't imagine spending my days coming up with such data. Maybe that's just me, though.



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