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The United States Naval Observatory states "the Equation of Time is the difference apparent solar time minus mean solar time", i.e. if the sun is ahead of the clock the sign is positive, and if the clock is ahead of the sun the sign is negative. [6] [7] The equation of time is shown in the upper graph above for a period of slightly more than a ...
Local mean time (LMT) is a form of solar time that corrects the variations of local apparent time, forming a uniform time scale at a specific longitude. This measurement of time was used for everyday use during the 19th century before time zones were introduced beginning in the late 19th century; it still has some uses in astronomy and navigation.
A contour plot of the hours of daylight as a function of latitude and day of the year, using the most accurate models described in this article. It can be seen that the area of constant day and constant night reach up to the polar circles (here labeled "Anta. c." and "Arct. c."), which is a consequence of the earth's inclination.
On a prograde planet like the Earth, the sidereal day is shorter than the solar day. At time 1, the Sun and a certain distant star are both overhead. At time 2, the planet has rotated 360° and the distant star is overhead again (1→2 = one sidereal day). But it is not until a little later, at time 3, that the Sun is overhead again (1→3 = one solar day). More simply, 1→2 is a complete ...
Right: a few minutes later the Sun is on the local meridian again. A solar day is complete. Solar time is measured by the apparent diurnal motion of the Sun. Local noon in apparent solar time is the moment when the Sun is exactly due south or north (depending on the observer's latitude and the season). A mean solar day (what we normally measure ...
Vertical declining dials are sundials that indicate local apparent time. Vertical south dials are a special case: as are vertical north, vertical east and vertical west dials. The word declining means that the wall is offset from one of these 4 cardinal points. There are dials that are not vertical, and these are called reclining dials.
N is the number of days since midnight UT as January 1 begins (i.e. the days part of the ordinal date −1) and can include decimals to adjust for local times later or earlier in the day. The number 2, in (N-2), is the approximate number of days after January 1 to the Earth's perihelion.
To determine "longitude by chronometer," a navigator requires a chronometer set to the local time at the Prime Meridian. Local time at the Prime Meridian has historically been called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), but now, due to international sensitivities, has been renamed as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), and is known colloquially as "zulu time".