# The earth has shifted on its axis. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475 "2011-03-13T00:42:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/21 "2011-03-13T07:25:37Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > This happens every time there is an earthquake. For example, the [Chile quake last year shifted the axis 3 inches](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/100302-chile-earthquake-earth-axis-shortened-day/) and shortened the length of the day by 1.26 millionths of a second. ^^This. Earthquakes moving the planet are nothing new. Has been happening since the planet formed. It is only interesting in noting how much power was unleashed. That is pretty cool but I think most people do not grasp what it takes to move a whole planet so much as a millimeter. This quake was insanely powerful in mere human terms. Nukes look like firecrackers in comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/22 "2011-03-13T11:52:32Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > This happens every time there is an earthquake. For example, the [Chile quake last year shifted the axis 3 inches](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/100302-chile-earthquake-earth-axis-shortened-day/) and shortened the length of the day by 1.26 millionths of a second. Damn Earth. I want my extra 1.26 millionths of a second sleep back. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/23 "2011-03-13T12:07:41Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Easy. Just add 4 inches to all surveying marks. It would be a global data replacement. It’s not possible to shift the surface of a globe and end up moving everything by the same amount (this is related to the ‘hairy ball’ problem in mathematics/topology). ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/24 "2011-03-13T13:10:58Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > > [@Musicat](#): > > > > Easy. Just add 4 inches to all surveying marks. It would be a global data replacement. > > It’s not possible to shift the surface of a globe and end up moving everything by the same amount (this is related to the ‘hairy ball’ problem in mathematics/topology). I won’t say my post was a whoosh, but it was intended to be a pun, perhaps best enjoyed by programmers. “Global” data replacement? Too subtle? ---
**Author:** ![manila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@manila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manila)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/25 "2011-03-13T13:40:45Z")
Wow GQ has certainly gotten more liberal in acceptable responses. I read the report on BBC and wanted to ask the same question. What does it mean? Tilted 4 inches along the vertical axis? What is that effect along the equator? 100 miles up and down? Is it really just quasi science hack journo speak? Just asking ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/26 "2011-03-13T13:49:17Z")
I don’t think the \*angle \*shifted 4". As for gaining/losing time: That was for that moment. If something is going X speed and there is energy released in the system, if enough energy is in the right direction, it positively affects the speed of the system. Over the long run… meh. It’ll all shakes out in the end, given all the seismic (and other) ‘stuff’. If you relocate East on the planet and never moved back West, you’ve lost up to 12 hours of time. . ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/27 "2011-03-13T14:38:44Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Great! :mad: And it’s daylight savings time tonight on top of it. I’m never gonna get enough sleep tonight. _Saving_; daylight _saving_ time. Sorry, it’s a peeve of mine. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/28 "2011-03-13T16:26:01Z")
> [@](#): > > The initial data suggests Friday’s earthquake moved Japan’s main island about 8 feet, according to Kenneth Hudnut of the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquake also shifted Earth’s figure axis by about 6 1/2 inches (17 centimeters), Gross added. > > The Earth’s figure axis is not the same as its north-south axis in space, which it spins around once every day at a speed of about 1,000 mph (1,604 kph). The figure axis is the axis around which the Earth’s mass is balanced and the north-south axis by about 33 feet (10 meters). > > “This shift in the position of the figure axis will cause the Earth to wobble a bit differently as it rotates, but will not cause a shift of the Earth’s axis in space - only external forces like the gravitational attraction of the sun, moon, and planets can do that,” Gross said. [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/13/scitech/main20042590.shtml](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/13/scitech/main20042590.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![manila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@manila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manila)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/29 "2011-03-13T16:47:46Z")
**x-ray vision** thanks, good information to enable me to continue a little more research ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/30 "2011-03-13T19:12:43Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > The figure axis is the axis around which the Earth’s mass is balanced and the north-south axis by about 33 feet (10 meters) What the hell does that mean? That isn’t even a real sentence. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/31 "2011-03-13T19:22:10Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > What the hell does that mean? That isn’t even a real sentence. It should read more like this: > [@](#): > > Earth’s figure axis is not the same as its north-south axis; they are offset by about 10 meters (about 33 feet). The above is a quote by the same scientist and it was written in an article regarding the Chilean earthquake in 2010. [http://www.braindroppings.com/2010/03/02/chilean-earthquake-shifted-the-earths-axis-shortened-days/](http://www.braindroppings.com/2010/03/02/chilean-earthquake-shifted-the-earths-axis-shortened-days/) ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/32 "2011-03-13T19:37:42Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > You know, every time you fart you affect the earth’s rotation. The only thing that saves us from Armageddon is the fact that you (presumably) fart in all different directions. Now THAT makes sense! Now if all the people in China got up on a chair…Nah. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/33 "2011-03-14T04:32:27Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > _Saving_; daylight _saving_ time. Sorry, it’s a peeve of mine. Wow, I’ve never seen a peeve that wasn’t a pet. Are you saying that you had a pet peeve that got so out of control that it went feral and took off for the woods and howls out there at night and if you could even find it and tried to pick it up it’d tear a chunk out of your hand and you’d have to get reconstructive surgery and a full course of rabies shots and so your beloved peeve is no longer safe as a pet? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/34 "2011-03-14T04:40:38Z")
Regarding the movement of the Japanese island, how does that affect GPS? Is there a way that the satellites recalibrate locations? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/35 "2011-03-14T04:57:12Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Wow, I’ve never seen a peeve that wasn’t a pet. > > Are you saying that you had a pet peeve that got so out of control that it went feral and took off for the woods and howls out there at night and if you could even find it and tried to pick it up it’d tear a chunk out of your hand and you’d have to get reconstructive surgery and a full course of rabies shots and so your beloved peeve is no longer safe as a pet? I’d like some of what you’re smoking, mate. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/36 "2011-03-14T15:52:20Z")
Wild Peeves. Band name! ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/37 "2011-03-15T03:32:42Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’d like some of what you’re smoking, mate. I’m smokin’ real life, mate! “I’m high all right…but not on false drugs. I’m high on the real thing: powerful gasoline, a clean windshield, and a shoeshine!” – a pilot/evangelist character from Firesign Theater ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/38 "2011-03-15T03:47:09Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Regarding the movement of the Japanese island, how does that affect GPS? Is there a way that the satellites recalibrate locations? Somebody want to take a shot at this? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/39 "2011-03-15T03:55:18Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Easy. Just add 4 inches to all surveying marks. It would be a global data replacement. > > But in what direction? Should I move to the left a little, or is my chair OK where it is? It’s just a jump to the left… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475/40 "2011-03-15T04:05:16Z")
Huh, I thought things looked a bit out of whack. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-earth-has-shifted-on-its-axis/574475.md?page=3)