equations of time definition of equations of time in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

equation of time: see solar time solar time, time defined by the position of the sun. The solar day is the time it takes for the sun to return to the same meridian in the sky. Local solar time is measured by a sundial.
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equation of time [i′kwā·zhən əv ′tīm]

(astronomy)

The addition of a quantity to mean solar time to obtain apparent solar time; formerly, when apparent solar time was in common use, the opposite convention was used; apparent solar time has annual variation as a result of the sun's inclination in the ecliptic and the eccentricity of the earth's elliptical orbit.

Equation of Time

the difference between mean solar time and apparent solar time, equal to the difference between the right ascensions of the true sun and the mean sun. The equation of time is often defined as the difference between apparent time and mean time; in this case, the equation has the opposite sign, a fact that must be borne in mind when reference books are used.

The equation of time varies continuously. The variation is due to the fact that the passage of apparent solar time, as measured by the hour angle of the true sun, is nonuniform because of the nonuniformity of the earth’s orbital motion and the inclination of the ecliptic to the equator. Therefore, the equation of time is obtained by adding two waves of approximately sinusoidal shape and nearly equal amplitude (see Figure 1). One of the waves has an annual period; the other, a semiannual period. The equation of time is equal to zero four times a year—around Apr. 16, June 14, Sept. 1, and Dec. 25. Four times a year it attains the following largest absolute values: +14.3 min (around Feb. 12), –3.8 min (around May 15), +6.4 min (around July 27), and –16.4 min (around Nov. 4).

Figure 1. Plot of the equation of time: (1) component of the equation determined by the nonuniformity of the earth’s orbital motion, (2) component of the equation determined by the Inclination of the ecliptic to the equator, (3) the equation of time

We can find the local mean solar time by using the equation of time if we know the apparent solar time, as determined from observations of the sun with, for example, a sundial. In this case, we use the following formula:

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Equation of Time (redirected from equations of time)

Equation of Time
(redirected from equations of time)