NASA says Chile earthquake moved us

William Atkins
Wednesday, 03 March 2010 23:55

Science - Energy

NASA geophysicists and other scientists stated that the Chile earthquake was so powerful that it changed the axial tilt of the Earth and, consequently, shortened the length of a day'”each, however, by only a very tiny amount.



The Nazca (Nasca) tectonic plate caused the earthquake, which was centered off the coast of Chile, after it made a move to go beneath the adjacent tectonic plate. The Nazca Plate is a tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin just off the west coast of South America.

The adjacent tectonic plate is called the South American Plate, which is located east of the Nazca Plate. Also, next to the Nazca Plate are the Antarctic Plate, to its south, and the Pacific Plate, to its west.

All of these tectonic plates are constantly moving, which cause earthquakes (some small, others medium, and still others, much larger) and volcanoes (also of various sizes).

And, while all of that is happening, the Earth is spinning on its axis (which is why we see the Sun move across the sky during the day, and the Moon across the sky at night'”our period of one Earth day).

In other words, when we see the "Sun set in the west" we really aren't seeing the Sun move. Instead, we are observing the Earth moving (rotating on its axis).

However, that spin (rotation) is not perfect. Earth's spin has a tiny wobble in it. In fact, the spin line (the Earth's rotational axis) actually moves in an area about 2,700 square feet (250 square meters).

This wobble is called the 'Chandler wobble' because U.S. astronomer Seth Carlo Chandler discovered, in 1891, that the wobble exists.

Page two continues with more on the wobble and how it changed with the Chilean quake.