Local Time

local time

[′lō·kəl ′tīm]

(astronomy)

Time based upon the local meridian as reference, as contrasted with that based upon a zone meridian, or the meridian of Greenwich.

Any time kept locally.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Local Time

 

in astronomy, time defined for a given site on the earth. Local time depends on the geographical longitude of the site and is identical for all points located on the same meridian. The difference in the local time of two sites is equal to the difference in the longitudes of the sites. Local time is determined from astronomical observations (in particular using solar clocks) at the given site.

Local time was formerly in common use, but since the end of the 19th century it has been replaced in most countries (in the USSR since 1919) by standard time. Stellar local time is used in astronomy. In daily life, the term “local time” is often used for the time, usually standard time, that a particular city, town, or the like lives by.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.