Mean Solar Time (Noun)
Meaning
(astronomy) time based on the motion of the mean sun (an imaginary sun moving uniformly along the celestial equator).
Classification
Nouns denoting time and temporal relations.
Examples
- Mean solar time is used to regulate clocks and is the basis for modern civil time.
- The rotation of the Earth is measured in mean solar time, which is the time it takes the Earth to rotate once on its axis relative to the mean sun.
- The difference between mean solar time and apparent solar time is due to the elliptical shape of the Earth's orbit and the tilt of its axis.
- Astronomers use mean solar time to calculate the position of celestial objects in the sky and to predict astronomical events.
- The equation of time is used to convert mean solar time to apparent solar time, taking into account the varying speed of the Earth as it orbits the Sun.