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Earth's rotation relative to the distant stars (the sidereal day) is 23 hours 56 minutes 4.1 seconds. Its mean rotation relative to the Sun (the the tropical day) is 24 hours.

The difference between these two periods of time occurs because, while the Earth is rotating about its axis, it is also revolving about the Sun, and in the period of one sidereal day, the apparent position of the Sun has shifted by nearly four minutes in time.

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13y ago

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