One of the most catastrophic natural catastrophes in recent history occurred on December 26, 2004, when a large 9.1 magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of Sumatra.
Over 230,000 people were killed by the tsunami that was caused by the earthquake in 14 different nations.
Beyond the evident devastation it left behind, however, NASA scientists found that the earthquake had a lasting impact on the planet.
Using information from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA scientists concluded that the earthquake was so strong that it actually changed the length of a day and the Earth’s axis.
Richard Gross, a geophysicist at NASA’s JPL in Pasadena, California, claims that the earthquake accelerated the Earth’s rotation by causing it to wobble slightly on its axis.
This little change was sufficient to alter the planet’s rotation significantly, which in turn caused the day to be somewhat shorter.
