The Earth has a solid iron core. That has been known since the days of Edward Halley, the discoverer of Halley’s comet. The inner core also rotates, but details of its rotation have defied explanation, until now!

Scientists at the University of Leeds have solved a 300-year-old riddle about which direction the centre of the Earth spins.

The Earth’s inner core, made up of solid iron, ‘superrotates’ in an eastward direction – meaning it spins faster than the rest of the planet – while the outer core, comprising mainly molten iron, spins westwards at a slower pace.