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T O P I C R E V I E WspaceukNews agencies today are reporting that the quake that set off the devastating tsunami literally shook the Earth to its core, scientists believe, accelerating its rotation and shortening days by a fraction of a second. It may be necessary to add a "leap second" in years to come in order to correct the change.Besides affecting all of us personally, it will also mean that ground tracking stations may have to compensate for this effect when precise pointing at deep space probes that are already out in space. Although miniscule,for far distant probes (eg Voyager) it could be difference between acquiring signal or not.PhillUKspaceukI just read this other item as well :-Richard Gross, a NASA geophysicist, theorised that a shift of mass toward the Earth’s centre during Sunday’s quake had caused the planet to spin 3 microseconds or one millionth of a second faster and to tilt about an inch on its axis.Again,although miniscule it will need be taken into account in trajectory programs.PhillUK
Besides affecting all of us personally, it will also mean that ground tracking stations may have to compensate for this effect when precise pointing at deep space probes that are already out in space. Although miniscule,for far distant probes (eg Voyager) it could be difference between acquiring signal or not.
PhillUK
Richard Gross, a NASA geophysicist, theorised that a shift of mass toward the Earth’s centre during Sunday’s quake had caused the planet to spin 3 microseconds or one millionth of a second faster and to tilt about an inch on its axis.
Again,although miniscule it will need be taken into account in trajectory programs.
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