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Sol (borrowed from the Latin word for sun) is a solar day on Mars; that is, a Mars-day. A sol is the apparent interval between two successive returns of the Sun to the same meridian (sundial time) as seen by an observer on Mars. It is one of several units for timekeeping on Mars. A sol is slightly longer than an Earth day.
The basic time periods from which the calendar is constructed are the Martian solar day (sometimes called a sol) and the Martian vernal equinox year.The sol is 39 minutes 35.244 seconds longer than the Terrestrial solar day, and the Martian vernal equinox year is 668.5907 sols in length (which corresponds to 686.9711 days on Earth).
The Mars time of noon is 12:00 which is in Earth time 12 hours and 20 minutes after midnight. For the Mars Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rover (MER), Phoenix, and Mars Science Laboratory missions, the operations teams have worked on "Mars time", with a work schedule synchronized to the local time at the landing site on Mars, rather than the ...
The MarsDial can function as a gnomon, the stick or other vertical part of a sundial. [2] [3] The length and direction of the shadow cast by the stick allows observers to calculate the time of day. [2] The sundial can also be used to tell which way is North, and to overcome the limitations of a magnetic north different from a true north. [2]
Opportunity landed in Meridiani Planum at , about 25 kilometers (16 mi) downrange (east) of its intended target on January 25, 2004, at 05: Although Meridiani is a flat plain, without the rock fields seen at previous Mars landing sites, Opportunity rolled into an impact crater 22 meters in diameter, with the rim of the crater approximately 10 meters (33 ft) from the rover. [4]
The Sun-synodic orbital period of Deimos of about 30.4 hours exceeds the Martian solar day ("sol") of about 24.7 hours by such a small amount that 2.48 days (2.41 sols) elapse between its rising and setting for an equatorial observer. From Deimos-rise to Deimos-rise (or setting to setting), 5.466 days (5.320 sols) elapse.
Overhead shot of Spirit without accumulated dust (November 2008) Spirit 's sundial before and after a cleaning event Time-lapse composite of the Martian horizon during Sols 1205 (0.94), 1220 (2.9), 1225 (4.1), 1233 (3.8), 1235 (4.7) shows how much sunlight the dust storms blocked; Tau of 4.7 indicates 99% blocked.
Mars is the celestial body in the solar system with the most similarities to Earth. A Mars sol lasts almost the same as an Earth day, and its axial tilt gives it similar seasons. There is water on Mars, most of it frozen at the Martian polar ice caps, and some of it underground. However, there are many obstacles to its habitability.