Also Read: Earth\u2019s 24-hour day is slowly breaking down, and the Moon\u2019s invisible braking force could eventually stretch clocks to 25 hours<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nThat difference is not a mistake. It is a reminder that time on Earth is partly a human system placed over a moving, wobbling planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Moon is acting like a brake<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The biggest long-term reason Earth\u2019s days are lengthening is the Moon. Its gravity pulls on Earth\u2019s oceans, creating tidal bulges that do not line up perfectly because water, seafloors, and continents create friction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That friction slowly drains energy from Earth\u2019s rotation. The planet keeps spinning, of course, but the effect is a bit like a spinning office chair losing speed when someone lightly drags a foot on the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
University of Toronto researchers have described how the Moon\u2019s tidal pull has slowed Earth over geological time. Their work notes that when the Moon formed about 4.5 billion years ago, a day was less than 10 hours long, and that today the day continues to lengthen by about 1.7 milliseconds per century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So when do we get 25 hours?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This is where viral headlines can get flippant. At the University of Toronto rate of about 1.7 milliseconds per century, adding one full hour would take roughly 200 million years if the same broad trend continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is the key phrase. \u201cIf the same broad trend continued.\u201d Earth\u2019s rotation is affected by several forces, and over deep time the atmosphere, oceans, ice, and continents do not stay the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So yes, a 25-hour day is physically plausible in the distant future. But for humans, businesses, military systems, power grids, satellites, and daily schedules, it is not a practical deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earth\u2019s atmosphere once changed the story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There is another twist: the Moon is not the only player in this slow tug-of-war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The University of Toronto team found that from roughly 2 billion to 600 million years ago, Earth\u2019s day appears to have stayed near 19.5 hours because a solar-driven atmospheric tide countered the Moon\u2019s braking effect. Without that long pause, the researchers say the modern day could have stretched far beyond 24 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/techy\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/earth-day-length-slowing-lunar-effect-1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Earth\u2019s day is gradually lengthening as the Moon\u2019s tidal pull and changing climate conditions act as a slow-motion brake on the planet\u2019s spin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nNorman Murray, one of the astrophysicists behind the work, compared the process to \u201cpushing a child on a swing.\u201d When the timing lines up, the push becomes much more effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Climate change adds a modern wrinkle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
At first glance, this sounds like pure astronomy, but the environment is part of the story, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NASA-funded research found that melting ice sheets and changes in groundwater<\/a> can shift mass around the planet, especially from the poles toward the oceans. In practical terms, that can make Earth slow its spin slightly, much like an ice skater slows down by spreading out their arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAlso Read: NASA\u2019s Parker Solar Probe is flying at 430,000 mph through the Sun\u2019s atmosphere, and its 4.5-inch shield is why it survives<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nFrom 2000 to 2018, NASA reported that ice and groundwater movement increased the length of day at a rate of 1.33 milliseconds per century. If emissions continue rising, that climate-related effect could reach 2.62 milliseconds per century by 2100, potentially overtaking the Moon\u2019s tidal effect by NASA\u2019s estimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why tiny time changes matter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A millisecond here or there sounds laughably small. Who would notice that while making coffee or catching a train?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People would not, but precision systems can. NASA points out that GPS and other modern technologies depend on extremely accurate timing, which is why even tiny mismatches between Earth\u2019s rotation and clock time matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is also why leap seconds exist. NIST explains<\/a> that leap seconds have been used to keep Coordinated Universal Time aligned with astronomical time because Earth\u2019s rotation is irregular and, over long periods, gradually slowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe business and defense angle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This is not just a classroom curiosity. Timing sits quietly underneath much of the modern economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Financial trades, telecom networks, navigation systems, data centers, satellite operations<\/a>, and military positioning tools all depend on synchronized clocks. A household clock can be off by a second and no one cares, but a navigation system or encrypted communications network does not have that luxury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAlso Read: The Navy has one drone-killing HELIOS laser at sea, but Congress wants it in a container and the deployment map changes<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nThat\u2019s why the real news is not that tomorrow will suddenly have 25 hours. The real news is that Earth\u2019s changing rotation is measurable, and our technology has become precise enough to care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What readers should remember<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The 25-hour day is not a hoax, but the \u201csoon\u201d version of the claim is misleading. The planet is slowing, mostly because of lunar tides, while climate-driven mass shifts are adding a smaller but increasingly important modern effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the most part, this will not change daily life. Your phone, calendar, and workday are safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, the story is a useful reminder. Earth is not a perfect clock sitting in space. It is a living, shifting planet, and even time itself has to adjust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The study was published in Science Advances<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The idea sounds dramatic enough to stop anyone mid-scroll. Earth\u2019s familiar 24-hour day is gradually getting longer, and one day, … <\/p>\n
Norman Murray, one of the astrophysicists behind the work, compared the process to \u201cpushing a child on a swing.\u201d When the timing lines up, the push becomes much more effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Climate change adds a modern wrinkle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
At first glance, this sounds like pure astronomy, but the environment is part of the story, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NASA-funded research found that melting ice sheets and changes in groundwater<\/a> can shift mass around the planet, especially from the poles toward the oceans. In practical terms, that can make Earth slow its spin slightly, much like an ice skater slows down by spreading out their arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From 2000 to 2018, NASA reported that ice and groundwater movement increased the length of day at a rate of 1.33 milliseconds per century. If emissions continue rising, that climate-related effect could reach 2.62 milliseconds per century by 2100, potentially overtaking the Moon\u2019s tidal effect by NASA\u2019s estimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A millisecond here or there sounds laughably small. Who would notice that while making coffee or catching a train?<\/p>\n\n\n\n People would not, but precision systems can. NASA points out that GPS and other modern technologies depend on extremely accurate timing, which is why even tiny mismatches between Earth\u2019s rotation and clock time matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is also why leap seconds exist. NIST explains<\/a> that leap seconds have been used to keep Coordinated Universal Time aligned with astronomical time because Earth\u2019s rotation is irregular and, over long periods, gradually slowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is not just a classroom curiosity. Timing sits quietly underneath much of the modern economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Financial trades, telecom networks, navigation systems, data centers, satellite operations<\/a>, and military positioning tools all depend on synchronized clocks. A household clock can be off by a second and no one cares, but a navigation system or encrypted communications network does not have that luxury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s why the real news is not that tomorrow will suddenly have 25 hours. The real news is that Earth\u2019s changing rotation is measurable, and our technology has become precise enough to care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 25-hour day is not a hoax, but the \u201csoon\u201d version of the claim is misleading. The planet is slowing, mostly because of lunar tides, while climate-driven mass shifts are adding a smaller but increasingly important modern effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the most part, this will not change daily life. Your phone, calendar, and workday are safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, the story is a useful reminder. Earth is not a perfect clock sitting in space. It is a living, shifting planet, and even time itself has to adjust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The study was published in Science Advances<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The idea sounds dramatic enough to stop anyone mid-scroll. Earth\u2019s familiar 24-hour day is gradually getting longer, and one day, … <\/p>\nAlso Read: NASA\u2019s Parker Solar Probe is flying at 430,000 mph through the Sun\u2019s atmosphere, and its 4.5-inch shield is why it survives<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Why tiny time changes matter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The business and defense angle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Also Read: The Navy has one drone-killing HELIOS laser at sea, but Congress wants it in a container and the deployment map changes<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
What readers should remember<\/h2>\n\n\n\n