There will eventually be 25 hours in a day, thanks to the moon

Many of us have suspected it during long, boring meetings, but the days on our planet are actually getting longer – and eventually, there will be 25 hours in a day.

It’s all to do with the moon moving away from our planet, researchers say.

A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that 1.4 billion years ago, a day on Earth lasted just over 18 hours.

The moon is moving away from our planet at just 3.82cm a year, which is having a small, but measurable effect on Earth’s movement.

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In around 200 million years’ time, every day on our planet will be 25 hours long, the researchers say.

Stephen Meyers, a professor of geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-author of the study, explained: ‘As the Moon moves away, the Earth is like a spinning figure skater who slows down as they stretch their arms out.’

The scientists studied evidence in Earth’s rock record to trace changes in Earth’s climate.

The researchers describe it as astrochronology, a statistical method that links astronomical theory with geological observation.

Dr Meyers said, ‘One of our ambitions was to use astrochronology to tell time in the most distant past, to develop very ancient geological time scales

‘We want to be able to study rocks that are billions of years old in a way that is comparable to how we study modern geologic processes.’