The earth is spinning faster than ever

This summer, Earth may complete its shortest day ever, as its rotation unexpectedly speeds up. According to researchers reported by the Daily Mail, this could happen today, or on July 22 or August 5, with up to 1.51 milliseconds disappearing from our day. Even Earth seems to be in a hurry, unsettling the rhythm we have grown used to.

Every day we run after the clock, faster and more precise. We measure, correct, and synchronize as if time is something we can completely control. But nature follows its own rhythm, sometimes slow and sometimes suddenly rushed. Since the collision that formed the Moon, Earth and Moon have pulled on each other through gravity. That pull gradually slows Earth's rotation, making each day a few milliseconds longer every century. In the time of the dinosaurs, a day lasted about 23 hours. In the distant future, we might even gain an extra hour. What would we do with it?

Nature tugs at the clock
Then, without warning, Earth speeds up, as if it too is in a rush. It jolts us awake once more. Nature cannot be tamed. In our pursuit of absolute precision, we forget how flexible even time can be. One unexpected acceleration of the planet can throw off all our clocks.

It reminds us that we are part of a system that is larger and more dynamic than we are. Perhaps time is not something we should try to lock in place, but a flow we should learn to move with, even when Earth is in a hurry, just like us.