蜜芽传媒

The rotation of planet Earth shapes everything from global weather patterns to jet streams and ocean currents. Flip that spin, and things could get wild.

Our planet rotates at a speed of around 1,600km an hour at the equator, which is where CrowdScience listener Jeronimo lives. Eight-year-old Jeronimo, from Ecuador, has been wondering whether he鈥檇 notice if the earth started spinning in the opposite direction. His father, Fabian, is usually on hand to provide answers. But this time Jeronimo has him stumped and he鈥檚 hoping CrowdScience can help him out.

Earth's rotation has been gradually slowing since its formation. But where did that original spin come from? To find out, we turn to Professor Kevin Luhman for a cosmic dance into planetary pirouettes. Could we really wake up one day on an Earth that spins in the opposite direction to the one we know?

And if we did, what would that world look like? Enter Dr. Uwe Mikolajewicz to help us forecast the hypothetical weather. With monsoons drenching parts of Africa, the Amazon transformed into a vast desert and cyclones swirling off the coast of Northern Europe, presenter Anand Jagatia goes backtracking into a world that鈥檚 very different to the one we currently live in.