A day is 24 hours, right? Right?!?! On this StarTalk explainer, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice investigate the length of a day.

To start, Neil explains why a “sidereal day” is 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds and a “solar day” is, on average, 24 hours. You’ll learn why Earth’s orbit around the sun impacts how we measure the length of the day. Should we re-define the length of a second? Discover more about leap seconds and how we decide when to add them to the calendar.

Find out more about atomic clocks and sun dials. Neil explains why the Earth is slowing down and why the Moon is spiraling away from us. We also discuss how tides serve as a counter-balance to the Earth’s rotation. All that, plus, we explore the many things that can impact Earth’s rotation including seasonal animal migrations, earthquakes, melting land glaciers, and more!

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About StarTalk:
Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!

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0:00 - Introduction
0:54 - How Long Earth Takes To Rotate
3:33 - Earth’s Orbit Around The Sun
5:25 - The Most Accurate Timekeepers
7:33 - Earth Is Slowing Down
11:45 - What Increases The Speed Of Earth’s Rotation?
13:45 - Neil’s Diabolical Idea
14:44 - The REAL Length Of A Day
15:54 - Closing Notes