Earth rotates once in about 24 hours with respect to the Sun, but once every 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds with respect to other distant stars. Scientists call this difference crucial to ...

Earth, sun, moon: three objects in space whose interactions have a pretty big impact on our lives. Earth orbits the sun once a year, and it rotates on its axis about once a day (depending on your ...

This week in Skywatch, I want to go back to basics when it comes to the moon. So why does the moon change shape? Why is it a crescent on one night, a half-moon another night, and a full moon on yet ...

The planet’s rotation fluctuates as it travels around the sun, and measurements suggest we’re losing more than a millisecond during the long days of summer. By Jacey Fortin This article was updated ...

Time and tide, as the ancient saying goes, wait for no one. But what is a tide? The word “tide” is a bit confusing; most people think of it as the ebb and flow of the ocean at the beach, caused by the ...