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Ancient Eclipses and the Earth’s Rotation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 March 2016

L.V. Morrison  and
F.R. Stephenson
L.V. Morrison
Affiliation:
28 Pevensey Park Road, Westham, Pevensey, East Sussex, UK
F.R. Stephenson
Affiliation:
Physics Dept., University of Durham, South Road, Durham, UK

Abstract

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The analysis of historical eclipses shows that the length of the day is increasing on the average by 1.8 milliseconds per century, as distinct from the value of 2.3 milliseconds per century expected from tidal friction. The difference may be accounted for by the response of the Earth to post-glacial uplift following the end of the last ice-age.

Type
II. Joint Discussions
Information
Highlights of Astronomy , Volume 12: Highlights of Astronomy. As presented at the XXIVth General Assembly of the IAU, 2000 , 2002 , pp. 338 - 341
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Pacific 2002

References

Stephenson, F.R. 1997, Historical eclipses and Earth’s rotation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stephenson, F.R., & Morrison, L.V. 1995, Long-term fluctuations in the Earth’ rotation: 700 BC-AD 1990, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. Ser. A, 351, 165 Google Scholar