TIME(G-NAV)
Rishika Pali
170915
Contents
Introduction
Measurement of Time
Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion
The Seasons
Measurements of Days and Years
Conversion of Arc (Angle) of Time
Local Mean Time
Co-ordinated Universal Time
Zone Time
Sunrise and Sunset
Twilight
References
Introduction
What does the word “time” mean?
Time is the indefinite
continued progress of existence and events that occur
in apparently irreversible succession from the past,
through the present, to the future.
Measurement of Time
Time is often referred to as a fourth dimension, along
with three spatial dimensions.
Our measures of time are based on the Earth’s
rotation about its own axis, the Earth’s rotation around
the Sun, and the movement of the solar system in our
galaxy and the movement of our galaxy in universe.
Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion
Kepler’s First Law: The orbit of each planet is an
ellipse with the Sun at one of the foci.
Kepler’s Second Law: The line joining the planet to
the Sun, known as the radius vector, sweeps out equal
areas in equal time.
Kepler’s Third Law: The square of the sidereal period
of a planet is proportional to the cube of its mean
distance from the Sun.
Aphelion: The point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid,
or comet at which it is furthest from the sun.
Perihelion: The point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid
or comet that is nearest to the sun. It is the opposite of
aphelion, which is the point farthest from the sun.
The Seasons
The predominant cause of the Seasons is the inclination
(tilt) of the Earth. The Earth’s axis is inclined (tilted) at an
angle of 66.5degrees to its orbital plane and this is often
stated as 23.5degrees to the normal to the orbital plane (90
- 66.5 = 23.5).
The Sun appears vertically above 23.5degrees of S on the
21st of December at the :-
NH – Winter Solstice SH – Summer Solstice
The Sun will appear above 23.5degrees of N on the 21st
of June at the :-
NH – Summer Solstice SH – Winter Solstice
The Sun crosses the equator from South to North on
about 21st of March, known as:-
NH – Spring Equinox SH – Autumn Equinox
Six months later it crosses the equator from North to
South on about 21st September, known as:-
NH – Autumn Equinox SH – Spring Equinox
Plane of Ecliptic: It is the plane of the Earth’s orbit
around the Sun.
Plane of Equinoctial: It is the plane of the equator.
The angle that the Sun is above or below the Equator
determines the season and affects the length of
daylight/night. This angle is known as Declination.
The Sun’s declination changes annually between
23.5degrees of N (Sun overhead the tropic of Cancer)
through 0degree (Sun overhead the Equator) to
23.5degrees of S(Sun overhead the Tropic of
Capricorn) and then back to 23.5degrees of N.
Measurements of Days and Years
Day: It is defined as the length of time taken for the
Earth to rotate once about its own axis measured
against a celestial body( the Sun or a star).
Civil Day: A day which is related to light and darkness
so that 1200 hrs is always about halfway between
sunrise and sunset. It should be of a constant length.
Sidereal Day: It is measured against a distant star
and is of nearly constant length. It is almost four
minutes shorter than the solar day because of the
earth's orbital motion.
Apparent Solar Day: It is measured against the real
or apparent Sun.
Mean Solar Day: It is the average length of an
apparent solar day (averaged over the year).
Hour Angle: The Hour Angle of a celestial body is
defined as the arc of the equator (equinoctial)
intercepted between the meridian of a datum and
the meridian of the body, measured westwards from
0degree to 360degree.
Conversion of Arc (Angle) to Time
360 degree = 24 hrs
15 degree = 1 hr
1 degree = 4 minutes
15’ of a degree of arc = 1 minute of time
15” of a degree of arc = 1 second of time
Local Mean Time
When the mean Sun transits (crosses) a particular
meridian, the Local Mean Time (LMT) at all places on
that meridian is 1200 hrs (midday, noon).
LMT at Greenwich Meridian is known as Greenwich
Mean Time (GMT) also called Zulu (‘Z’), which used to
be the Earth’s standard time .
Co-ordinated Universal Time
(UTC)
The present standard time is called Co-ordinated
Universal Time (UTC) which for all practical purposes
is the same as GMT.
UTC changes at constant rate and is regulated
against the International Atomic Time (IAT) derived
from atomic clocks. UTC is the datum for world time.
Zone Time
Earth is divided into 25 zones of 15degree longitude
(1 hr), except the 2 semi-zones M and Y adjacent to
the International Data Line.
Each zone is 7.5degree about a central meridian,
firstly the GMT then every 15degree zones are
assigned a letter.
Zone time varies from UTC (Z time) by increasing
periods of 1 hr counting east (+) or west (-) from
‘Z’[eg. Singapore = Zone G (+7)].
Sunrise and Sunset
Local noon occurs at the same time LMT on all
meridians (1200 hrs LMT). It is also true to say that the
Sun rises at the same LMT at all places on the same
parallel of latitude.
Twilight
Twilight is that period before sunrise and after
sunset when refracted light from the Earth’s
atmosphere gives an amount of illumination.
Civil Twilight: It occurs when the Sun’s centre is in between
0degree 50min and 6degree below the sensible horizon.
Nautical Twilight: The centre of the Sun is in between
6degree and 12degree below the sensible horizon.
Astronomical Twilight: The centre of the Sun is in between
12 degree and 18 degree below the sensible horizon.
References
oxford book
[Link]
Any Questions?
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