OPINION (Express) – Earth’s rotation is slowing down as the Moon moves farther away from the planet – and scientists believe it could cause major earthquakes. Earth’s rotation is slowing as our planet uses energy to keep the tidal bulge ahead of the Moon’s orbit. The Moon’s gravity keeps Earth’s rotation in check, and to do this the lunar satellite’s orbit must be slightly ahead of Earth’s. As the Moon attempts to regulate Earth’s rotation and slow it down, the Moon moves slowly away. According to Matthew Funke, solar system
ambassador for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who wrote on Q+A website Quora: “The Moon’s gravity creates a tidal bulge on the Earth. This bulge attempts to rotate at the same speed as the rest of the planet. “As it moves ‘ahead’ of the Moon, the Moon attempts to pull it back. This slows the Earth’s rotation down. “One of the rules of the Universe is that ‘angular momentum’ can’t go anywhere — even if individual pieces speed up, slow down, or change direction, the sum total of angular momentum cannot change. READ MORE
