November 5, 2024

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The Earth’s inner core is starting to slow down, and that could change the length of our days

The Earth’s inner core is starting to slow down, and that could change the length of our days

New research has confirmed that our planet’s core has been rotating unusually slowly over the past 14 years. If this mysterious trend continues, it will likely lengthen Earth’s days, although the effects will likely be imperceptible to us.

Earth’s inner core is a roughly moon-sized chunk of solid iron and nickel located more than 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) beneath our feet. It is surrounded by the outer core – an extremely hot layer of molten minerals similar to that of the inner core – which is surrounded by a much solider sea of ​​molten rock, known as the mantle, and the crust. Although the entire planet rotates, the inner core can rotate at a slightly different speed than the mantle and crust due to the viscosity of the outer core.