{"id":141333,"date":"2025-09-16T14:50:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T14:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/141333\/"},"modified":"2025-09-16T14:50:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T14:50:09","slug":"the-moon-is-drifting-away-from-earth-at-a-rate-of-1-5-inches-per-year-and-it-could-mean-days-become-25-hours-long-scientists-warn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/141333\/","title":{"rendered":"The moon is drifting AWAY from Earth at a rate of 1.5 inches per year – and it could mean days become 25 hours long, scientists warn"},"content":{"rendered":"

By XANTHA LEATHAM, EXECUTIVE SCIENCE EDITOR<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 09:01 EDT, 16 September 2025 | Updated: 09:04 EDT, 16 September 2025 <\/p>\n

It’s the reliable celestial companion that’s stuck around for 4.5 billion years.<\/p>\n

But the moon is slowly drifting away from Earth, a physicist has revealed.<\/p>\n

Dr Stephen DiKerby, a researcher in Physics and Astronomy at Michigan<\/a> State University, said the moon is getting 1.5 inches (3.8cm) further away from our planet every year.<\/p>\n

As a result, the Earth’s rotation is also slowing down, he revealed. And it means that \u2013 over time \u2013 days could get longer.<\/p>\n

The revelation helps explain why around 70 million years ago, near the end of the time of the dinosaurs, Earth’s days were only 23.5 hours long.<\/p>\n

As the moon continues to move further away, the number of seconds, minutes and eventually hours in a day will also gradually increase \u2013 but it’s likely none of us alive today will be around to notice it.<\/p>\n

‘Don’t worry, these effects are so small,’ he wrote on The Conversation<\/a>. ‘1.5 inches per year compared to a distance of 239,000 miles (384,000 km) is just 0.00000001 per cent per year.<\/p>\n

‘We’ll keep having eclipses, tides and days that last 24 hours for millions of years.’<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The moon is getting 1.5 inches further away from our planet every year, an expert revealed. Pictured: The moon over London in February 2023<\/p>\n

Dr DiKerby explained that the moon is getting further away due to our tides.<\/p>\n

The Earth’s tides are strongly influenced by the moon’s gravitational pull, which causes our oceans to slosh in two bulges.<\/p>\n

One points towards the moon, because this is where the force of gravity is the strongest, while the other points away from the moon, where the force is weakest.<\/p>\n

‘These liquid bulges do not quite line up with the moon,’ Dr DiKerby said. ‘They “lead” it a little bit because the Earth is rotating and dragging them forward.<\/p>\n

‘This forward pull from the closer tidal bulge causes the moonto speed up, which causes the size of its orbit to increase.<\/p>\n

‘This means that the moongets slightly farther away from the Earth.’<\/p>\n

However, he reassured that the effect is very gradual and is only detectable on average over years.<\/p>\n

‘If we fast\u2013forward tens of billions of years into the future, eventually the Earth’s rotation could slow down until it is tidally locked with the moon,’ he said.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Earth’s tides are strongly influenced by the moon’s gravitational pull, which causes our oceans to slosh in two bulges. Pictured: The moon over the Dolomites<\/p>\n

‘At this point the moon would stop getting more distant, and you would see the moon only from one side of the Earth.’<\/p>\n

Future generations will never get to witness this phenomenon, however.<\/p>\n

First, in around a billion years, the Sun will get brighter and boil away the oceans, meaning there are no longer tides to influence the moon’s position in the sky, he explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And second, a few billion years later, the Sun will expand into a red giant, likely destroying the Earth \u2013 and the moon.<\/p>\n

WHAT IS GRAVITY?<\/a><\/p>\n

Gravity is one of the fundamental forces of the universe.<\/p>\n

Scientists understand that there are four fundamental forces that act on all things in the universe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gravity –\u00a0Weakest force but has infinite range.Weak nuclear force – Next weakest but short rangeElectromagnetic force –\u00a0Stronger and with infinite range. Strong nuclear force –\u00a0Strongest of the forces but short range<\/p>\n

The natural phenomenon is an attractive force that acts on all things, but has a stronger pull on larger objects.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The force is so weak that huge celestial objects are required to have a meaningful impact.<\/p>\n

For example, the attraction on Earth is just sufficient to keep humans grounded.<\/p>\n

Although it is understood how it works, the workings of how it operated are a mystery.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Scientists have long speculated about the existence of a fundamental particle called the ‘graviton’ which is responsible for the force.<\/p>\n

Despite its theoretical logic, the particle is yet to be discovered.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Earth the force of gravity is measured at 9.8m\/s^2.<\/p>\n

For reference, the force on Jupiter is\u00a0\u00a024.8m\/s^2 and the moon is 1.6m\/s^2.<\/p>\n

That means a 10 stone (140 pound) human on Earth would weigh only 22 pounds on the moon but would weigh 331 pounds on Jupiter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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