March 2nd, 2010

Chile Earthquake Earth Axis 2010 and a Bizarre Chance of Shortened Days.  NASA scientists have revealed a fact that is shocking the world.  Saturday’s earthquake in Chile, which also prompted a small tsunami in Hawaii, moved the earth off its axis.  What does it mean? Well, moving earth off its axis causes our time to be shorted by about 1.26 microseconds.

It’s shocking, but true that the 8.8 quake moved the earth off its axis by about 3 inches. This is an incredible length considering the size of our planet.  It’s kind of scary to think what a series of these types of quakes would do to change the landscape of our planet.

Scientists are quick to point out that the moving of the earth off its axis isn’t enough to change our seasons.  It would take far more than the Chilean quake to make alterations in our weather patterns, as earth’s tilt is what determines the seasons.

The quake in Chile has killed over 700 people and has wreaked havoc on the Latin American country. There are numerous reports of looting and general chaos and violence, as the effects of the quake have displaced over a million people.

For more information on the death toll and violence outbursts, click here.

The US and other nations have offered their aid to Chile.  It’s also been noted that Saturday’s natural disaster is far stronger than that which was felt in Haiti back in January.

Source:

Associated Press