Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. An award-winning reporter writing about stargazing and the night sky. Earth could be about to record its fastest-ever rotation.

For more than a century, engineers have chased new ways to turn the planet’s natural motions into usable power, from tides to geothermal heat. Now a small group of physicists says Earth’s own magnetic ...

As if it's not already hard enough to find the time to do everything you need to do in a day, now you're about to lose another whole millisecond or more. In fact, experts say Tuesday, July 22, could ...

If you haven’t accomplished as much this summer as you had hoped to, you can blame forces far beyond your control: a few of these dog days, by one measure, are among the shortest you’ve ever lived ...

Planet Earth is spinning a little faster today — resulting in one of the shortest days of the year. But the change will be so minuscule you won’t even notice. We’re talking even less time than the ...

Aren’t the summer days supposed to be longer and the winter days shorter? Since when have things gone in reverse for the summertime? Since now, maybe? Starting today? Okay, here’s what’s going on.

On those three days, just over a millisecond is expected to be shaved off the standard 24-hour day. Of course, you're unlikely to notice such a miniscule difference in your day. But scientists who ...

Water has power. So much power, in fact, that pumping Earth’s groundwater can change the planet’s tilt and rotation. It can also impact sea-level rise and other consequences of climate change. Pumping ...

What happens if Earth stops rotating?Etan MeyerBoca Raton, FL I will assume you're referring to what would happen if Earth stopped rotating all at once, without any gradual reduction in velocity. In ...

Earth takes 24 hours to complete a full rotation in a standard day, equal to exactly 86,400 seconds. July 9 was the first of three days in which a millisecond or more could be shaved off the clock on ...