Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The tangential speed of Earth's rotation at a point on Earth can be approximated by multiplying the speed at the equator by the cosine of the latitude. [42] For example, the Kennedy Space Center is located at latitude 28.59° N, which yields a speed of: cos(28.59°) × 1,674.4 km/h = 1,470.2 km/h.
the Earth's surface Speed Orbital period Specific orbital energy; Earth's own rotation at surface (for comparison— not an orbit) 6,378 km: 0 km: 465.1 m/s (1,674 km/h or 1,040 mph) 23 h 56 min 4.09 sec: −62.6 MJ/kg: Orbiting at Earth's surface (equator) theoretical 6,378 km: 0 km: 7.9 km/s (28,440 km/h or 17,672 mph) 1 h 24 min 18 sec
The Earth completes one rotation for each sidereal day, so for motions of everyday objects the Coriolis force is imperceptible; its effects become noticeable only for motions occurring over large distances and long periods of time, such as large-scale movement of air in the atmosphere or water in the ocean, or where high precision is important ...
The Earth's rotation rate is still slowing down, though gradually, by about two thousandths of a second per rotation every 100 years. [1] Estimates of how fast the Earth was rotating in the past vary, because it is not known exactly how the moon was formed. Estimates of the Earth's rotation 500 million years ago are around 20 modern hours per ...
Somewhat similarly, the friction of ocean tides from the moon’s gravitational pull slows the Earth’s rotation. Historically, that has had the largest influence on the planet’s rate of spin ...
Consequently, the equator has a rather stable daytime temperature throughout the year. On the equinoxes (approximately March 20 and September 23) the subsolar point crosses Earth's equator at a shallow angle, sunlight shines perpendicular to Earth's axis of rotation, and all latitudes have nearly a 12-hour day and 12-hour night. [2]
However, the slowdown of Earth's rotation is not occurring fast enough for the rotation to lengthen to a month before other effects make this irrelevant: about 1 to 1.5 billion years from now, the continual increase of the Sun's radiation will likely cause Earth's oceans to vaporize, [15] removing the bulk of the tidal friction and acceleration.
Neutron stars, including pulsars, can be as small as about 12 miles across—if Earth rotated at the same speed as one of these stars, an Earth day would be nearly 4,300 hours long.