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In the past, Earth’s day was longer than 24 hours, which could have led to the rapid development of complex life forms. This conclusion was reached by Chinese scientists from Chengdu University of Technology.
How it is communicated Vesti.az The study was published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Gazeta.ru reported.
The team concluded that there were two periods in Earth’s history when the speed of the Earth on its axis changed rapidly. At that time, a day was 2.2 hours longer than it is now.
According to scientists, the length of Earth’s day depends on the position of the moon. The reason for the slowdown is that the satellite’s distance from Earth has increased by about 20,000 kilometers from the current 384,400 kilometers.
One of these periods lasted between 650 and 500 million years ago and encompassed the so-called “Cambrian Explosion,” when life on Earth dramatically diversified and occupied new ecological niches.
The second slowdown occurred between 340 and 280 million years ago, when huge glaciers covered the Earth.
The research suggests that by increasing day length (and thus sunlight exposure), the Moon may have triggered a massive oxygenation event that led to an evolutionary boom.
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