The Moon is gradually moving away from the Earth, and its gravitational force affects our planet, slowing its rotation and making the day longer. The Moon’s gravitational influence is manifested in the Earth’s tides. The Sun has a similar influence on the Earth. In this case, our luminary tends to accelerate the rotation of the planet. But the strength of its influence is about 10 times weaker than the influence of the Moon. About 2.2 billion years ago, these influences began to offset each other. This continued for 1.6 billion years.
Today, however, global warming can affect the length of the day. An increase in the planet’s temperature also raises its resonant frequency. Because of this, the solar momentum decreases and the duration of the day becomes correspondingly longer.
