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How did the Chile earthquake of 2010 affect the length of Earth’s day?
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Chile earthquake of 2010
A collapsed building in Concepción, Chile, following an earthquake, 2010.
The 2010 Chile earthquake, a magnitude-8.8 event, caused a shift in Earth’s axis that resulted in the shortening of the length of a day by more than a microsecond. This change was determined by a NASA computer model, which ascertained that the powerful force of the subducting plate during the earthquake was sufficient to alter the planet's rotation.1