Chili Earthquake May Have Shortened Days On Earth!

[Obama 2012 1,714]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20100302/sc_...eneddaysonearth

SPACE.com Space.com Staff

space.com – 2 hrs 50 mins ago

The massive 8.8 earthquake that struck Chile may have changed the entire Earth's rotation and shortened the length of days on our planet, a NASA scientist said Monday.

The quake, the seventh strongest earthquake in recorded history, hit Chile Saturday and should have shortened the length of an Earth day by 1.26 milliseconds, according to research scientist Richard Gross at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

"Perhaps more impressive is how much the quake shifted Earth's axis," NASA officials said in a Monday update.

The computer model used by Gross and his colleagues to determine the effects of the Chile earthquake effect also found that it should have moved Earth's figure axis by about 3 inches (8 cm or 27 milliarcseconds).

The Earth's figure axis is not the same as its north-south axis, which it spins around once every day at a speed of about 1,000 mph (1,604 kph).

The figure axis is the axis around which the Earth's mass is balanced. It is offset from the Earth's north-south axis by about 33 feet (10 meters).

Strong earthquakes have altered Earth's days and its axis in the past. The 9.1 Sumatran earthquake in 2004, which set off a deadly tsunami, should have shortened Earth's days by 6.8 microseconds and shifted its axis by about 2.76 inches (7 cm, or 2.32 milliarcseconds).

One Earth day is about 24 hours long. Over the course of a year, the length of a day normally changes gradually by one millisecond. It increases in the winter, when the Earth rotates more slowly, and decreases in the summer, Gross has said in the past.

The Chile earthquake was much smaller than the Sumatran temblor, but its effects on the Earth are larger because of its location. Its epicenter was located in the Earth's mid-latitudes rather than near the equator like the Sumatran event.

The fault responsible for the 2010 Chile quake also slices through Earth at a steeper angle than the Sumatran quake's fault, NASA scientists said.

"This makes the Chile fault more effective in moving Earth's mass vertically and hence more effective in shifting Earth's figure axis," NASA officials said.

Gross said his findings are based on early data available on the Chile earthquake. As more information about its characteristics are revealed, his prediction of its effects will likely change.

The Chile earthquake has killed more than 700 people and caused widespread devastation in the South American country.

Several major telescopes in Chile's Atacama Desert have escaped damage, according to the European Southern Observatory managing them.

A salt-measuring NASA satellite instrument destined to be installed on an Argentinean satellite was also undamaged in the earthquake, JPL officials said.

The Aquarius instrument was in the city of Bariloche, Argentina, where it is being installed in the Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas (SAC-D) satellite. The satellite integration facility is about 365 miles (588 km) from the Chile quake's epicenter.

The Aquarius instrument is designed to provide monthly global maps of the ocean's salt concentration in order to track current circulation and its role in climate change.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

no wonder i was sleepy this morning.. i want my millisecond back

[The_Dude 1,142]

Fail title. I thought Chili Earthquake was some sort of food contest. I am hungry.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Fail title. I thought Chili Earthquake was some sort of food contest. I am hungry.

The restaurant chain could really cash in on this tragedy.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

The restaurant chain could really cash in on this tragedy.

Oh yeah, I can see it: Chili's - we shake things up.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Oh yeah, I can see it: Chili's - we shake things up.

Anything to replace that putrid Baby Back ribs song is fine by me

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Anything to replace that putrid Baby Back ribs song is fine by me

I don't care about the song - they should try and actually serve up good ribs.

[The_Dude 1,142]

I don't care about the song - they should try and actually serve up good ribs.

Their ribs are actually pretty bad. I like Chicago Ribs, and Tony Roma's.

But this would be a good time for Chili's to introduce the Awesome Onion Blossom Earth Shaking Deal!!!!

[Sprailenes 47]

Mmm I want some spicy chili!

[Peikko 1,575]

Rubbish, this is a hoax by the evil scientist to make us believe we've lost vital seconds from our lives! Burn the heretics!!!

[Peikko 1,575]

Unless of course these scientists are not funded by the pervayors of marxism that pervade and taint the soft underbelly of the liberal universities, if one lifts the covers a tiny bit, one can see them.

If they are not, then of course, it might be true, perhaps?

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

this thread had me worried that someone found out about that "volcanic eruption" the last time i ate spicey chilli

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

this thread had me worried that someone found out about that "volcanic eruption" the last time i ate spicey chilli

Fixed that icon for you.

[MrsCat 6]

this thread had me worried that someone found out about that "volcanic eruption" the last time i ate spicey chilli

We all knew charles, we were all just too polite to call you out on it.

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

Fixed that icon for you.

excellent choice. my neighbors thought yellowstone had erupted.