The 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile apparently had some profound effects on this giant spinning rock we live on. NASA calculated that the figure axis, along which Earth�s mass is balanced, shifted by about eight centimeters.
Perhaps more impressive is how much the quake shifted Earth�s axis. Gross calculates the quake should have moved Earth�s figure axis (the axis about which Earth�s mass is balanced) by 2.7 milliarcseconds (about 8 centimeters, or 3 inches). Earth�s figure axis is not the same as its north-south axis; they are offset by about 10 meters (about 33 feet).
It also disrupted the Earth�s rotation, shortening each day by 1.26 microseconds. No worries, though, because at that rate we shouldn�t notice any real effects for a while, but in 500 years or so, sunrise will be around 10:30 PM.
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