Equation of Time |
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| The Equation of Time is the difference between sundial and watch time. As you can recall, there is a difference between watch time and sundial time because watch time is based on there being 24 equal hours in a day. However, this is not accurate and sundial time measures the actual time by the position of the sun. The Equation of Time allows the conversion from sundial time to clock time. There are two effects that combine to create the Equation of Time.
1.The tilt in the Earth's rotation axis relative to its orbit around the sun: This is why we have changing lengths of hours during the day. Mathematics 2. The Earth's Elliptical Orbit: The Earth actually moves faster when it is closest to the Sun. This is due to Kepler's Second Law which states: As the planet moves in its orbit, a line from the sun to the planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times. Mathematics
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11/30/2007
