SCENARIOS THAT WOULD TAKE PLACE IF THE EARTH STOPPED SPINNING

ONE DAY WOULD BE A YEAR LONG

Today, one day is equal to 23 hours and 56 minutes. If our

planet was to stop spinning, the sun would stay over half of

Earth for six months and the other half for six months,

killing off most plant and animal life. That means a

six-month-long day followed by a six-month-long night.

THE POLES WOULD BE MOSTLY UNSCATHED

Since Earth’s rotational velocity diminishes the further away

one gets from the Equator, if the Earth stopped spinning, a

polar bear or penguin standing on the North or South

Pole would feel little disturbance.

SUNLIGHT WOULD BE BLOCKED FROM REACHING EARTH

Dust and debris shot into the atmosphere by a stopped-Earth

would likely block out the sun, at least temporarily, as happens

when volcanoes spew ash into the sky and as happened

during the asteroid impact which killed off the

remainder of the dinosaurs.

THE SUN'S PATTERN WOULD CHANGE

Without the Earth’s normal rotation, the sun would rise in

the west and set in the east.

EARTH WOULD BECOME A SPHERE

As it spins, Earth bulges out at the equator due to rotational

velocity. If the Earth were to stop spinning, the 5 miles

(8 km) of bulging oceans would redistribute over the

planet, flooding many low-lying regions.

OCEANS WOULD REDISTRIBUTE

On a similar coin, since gravity is strongest at the poles, the

oceans would concentrate around the North and South Poles,

leaving behind one super-continent wrapping around

Earth’s equator.

WIND PATTERNS WOULD CHANGE

Current wind systems move in parallel to the equator but would

move from the equator to the poles if the Earth stopped

spinning, massively altering weather patterns.

THE OCEANS' SURFACE WOULD ATOMIZE

The rapidly moving wind systems would atomize the surface

layer of any body of water, including oceans, creating a

spray on the surface and waves that would overturn

most if not all vessels.