Changes in Earth's Rotation

andeelym · Post by **andeelym** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:34 am

I know its kinda insensitive to ask this now, but will the recent change in Earth's rotation cause any stargazing problems to us?

I know it might not but alot, but will it cause issues to long exposure astrophotography?

Just curious.

kensou · Post by **kensou** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 5:27 pm

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/japan-earthqua ... 9-920.html

not sure too

Post by **Airconvent** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 10:22 pm

No lah...the changes are very minor. The rotation rate changes each time there is a major geographical event such as the volcanoe eruption last year and the Japan quake this year. But they are so slight you won't notice any difference in your life time. [smilie=cool.gif]

andeelym · Post by **andeelym** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:12 pm

I am not concerned about the rotation rate but I read that the rotation axis was shifted as well. So what I worry is that will it affect astrophotography?

swat_pup6433 · Post by **swat_pup6433** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:29 pm

hmm not very sure thou.. lol if one day you realized ur mount's sidereal rate tracking cant seem to hold the stars in place even after doing precise aligment.. then you can tell.. we are pretty screwed.

Post by **Airconvent** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 10:26 am

andeelym wrote:I am not concerned about the rotation rate but I read that the rotation axis was shifted as well. So what I worry is that will it affect astrophotography?

Thats called precession, I think but its a very slow process and you can notice it if you keep track over a few thousand years. Nonetheless, the effects are very minor over several hours which is the normal time for astrophotography.