I'm going to continue that with this blog entry.
First off, the reported Sendai quake of 8.9 has been upgraded to 9.0 on the Richter Scale. The scale works where a 7.0 earthquake is 10 times as powerful as a 6.0. But, an 8.0 is 100 times more powerful than a 6.0. Regardless, at 9.0, it is tied for the fourth most powerful earthquake ever measured.
Did you know that the Sendai quake of 9.0 on the Richter Scale actually caused a shift in the Earth's axis. No, we aren't spiraling out of control into the sun, rather we now have shorter days.
It's nothing to worry about though. We don't have to re-set our clocks or buy new calendars because all five months of the year are now 47 days long. Nope. We still have 12 months and 365 days (not including Leap Year when we have 366). You may all jump for joy. Just not at the same time in case we jar the Earth.
While scientists are still working out the exact details, our day has become shorter. How much shorter? Let's look at the data surrounding the 8.8 temblor (tremor - and yes, I spelled it correctly) that hit China in 2010. It moved the Earth's axis a whole three inches - cosmically, that's quite a lot - and shortened the length of our day by 1.26 microseconds (a microsecond is a millionth of a second).
The Sendai quake moved the earth 10 centimetres or just under four inches.
By the way... you may have heard on the news that the Earth's axis was shifted by 10-inches... that's a lot, but don't you believe it... the correct number is in Metric, and is 10 centimetres. The bloody US should get with the whole metric program and stop screwing up data from the rest of the Metric-using world.
Anyhow, the Earth shift is measured by calculating the distance between the Earth and Luna (that's the name of our moon, in case you were wondering). I'm just going to guess that an exact number is determined by shooting a laser off our moon and calculating how long it takes to travel back (dividing it by two to get the one-way distance)... and then comparing the recent data to that previous to March 11, 2011. Recall that light travels at 186,000 miles per second (or 299,792.458 kilometres per second). Also recall that everyday, the distance between Luna and Earth changes. So... it's an inexact science. Sort off. Or it is.
What has happened to cause this shift in axis? Well, in the boring scientific data I've combed through, it seems that the quake caused Japan's coast (on the east) to extend eight-feet eastward and caused the ground to sink a bit to toward the centre of the Earth. I know, I'm confused too. But facts are facts. Anyhow... the redistribution of the Earth's mass has caused our planet to spin slightly faster. If it spins faster, our 24-hour day is shorter.
Not to worry, it's why we have a Leap Year to begin with. Did you really think an Earth day is exactly 24 hours long cosmically? It's not. It's why we catch up by adding an extra day onto February every four years.
A geophysicist at the University of South Florida - Diana Roman - offers the analogy of a figure skater spinning on the ice. When the skater spins slowly, the arms are spread out. To go faster, the skater pulls the arms arms in closer to the body. That's kind of what has happened to Earth.
Now... as mentioned, the Japan quake only shifted the Earth 10 centimetres - and just like in real life, that's not a lot. You ladies say size doesn't matter, and in this case, you are right.
The shortening of Earth's day by such a small amount will equate to about one lost second over the next 100 years... which means we should start the countdown for 2111 at nine rather than 10. Someone should inform the frozen head of Dick Clark of that fact when he introduces the New Year's Day TV special in 100 years time.
Anyhow, gentle readers: you now know more than most people on the planet about the cosmic results of the earthquake. I'm am in the midst of getting information on whether even a slight shift in axis could affect the Earth's magnetic fields and or the migratory path of animals or fish. Hopefully I'll have something for you in a few days.
Somewhere wondering if skaters can do a triple axel leap year,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog title is by The Doors: There is the known and the unknown, and in between are THEDOORS.
PS: I wanted to be an astronomer until I realized I'd have to work nights.
PPS: Actually I did want to be an astronomer. I had two astronomy courses in university and they were the only things I got great or even good marks in.
PPPS: Yes, I actually own a good collection of the Classics Illustrated comic books - as pictured above, as I do have over 30,000 comics stored away carefully.
