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.
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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