Answer – A day has 24 hours.
Explanation:
On average, the amount of time it takes for Earth to spin completely around its own axis is 24 hours, which is a day. But it’s not true for nearly every day. This discrepancy results due to Earth’s elliptical orbit around the sun and its varying orbital speed throughout the year.
Image Credits: Kevin M. Gill / Wikimedia Commons (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)
Earth’s rotation technically completes a full circle (360°) every approximately 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.09 seconds, i.e., a sidereal day. A sidereal day is one rotation of Earth relative to the stars. However, a conventional day (i.e., solar day) is one rotation of Earth relative to the sun i.e., the sun returning to its prior position from the day before. For this, Earth requires ~1° of additional rotation, which equates to an additional 235.91 seconds, lengthening the solar day to 24 hours. Also, each day’s length varies by several seconds throughout the year because Earth has a varying orbital speed (approximately 29.29-30.29 km/s).
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