In most 1-hr. time zones, it's less than a degree, since the Moon travels approximately half that distance - 30' or less (roughly the arc diameter). In a 4+hr. time zone, up to 2.5 degrees separation.
That moment is identical for observers at that longitude only. For those displaced from it, the difference is 1° = 4 min. of time. The speed of sound or light has nothing to do with the rotation of the Earth on its axis - in other words, astronomical time. This is what I call the Superman-inspired notion - that "time is homogeneous across longitudes." If Clark Kent can move around like that, then "time MUST be the same everywhere," right? Not really! It's time we dispense with this insidious notion or assumption and return to common sense!
Read carefully these articles, and after that I'll be happy to answer questions:
Astronomical time is rotational by definition. Like I said, the speed of sound or electricity has nothing to do with the Earth's rotation. I'm not advocating a return to LMT use, only to a respect for the longitude of the observer and his local time as measured from Greenwich. This is accomplished through the revised formula that I'm advocating which avoids the chaos that would ensue from resetting clocks to pre-1883 days.
All astronomers use LAST calibration for telescopes, which formula honors the longitude of its location. If you had read the articles above, you'd not be talking about solving a problem that doesn't exist or confusing a "Cosmic Moment" (such as a New Moon) with a local time moment, which is different depending on the longitude separation from Greenwich.
This is a well written and important post. Great work!
Thanks! Hoping others will react the same!
In most 1-hr. time zones, it's less than a degree, since the Moon travels approximately half that distance - 30' or less (roughly the arc diameter). In a 4+hr. time zone, up to 2.5 degrees separation.
That moment is identical for observers at that longitude only. For those displaced from it, the difference is 1° = 4 min. of time. The speed of sound or light has nothing to do with the rotation of the Earth on its axis - in other words, astronomical time. This is what I call the Superman-inspired notion - that "time is homogeneous across longitudes." If Clark Kent can move around like that, then "time MUST be the same everywhere," right? Not really! It's time we dispense with this insidious notion or assumption and return to common sense!
Read carefully these articles, and after that I'll be happy to answer questions:
https://rscott51.substack.com/p/sidereal-time-and-universal-time
https://rscott51.substack.com/p/supplement-to-sidereal-time-and-universal
https://rscott51.substack.com/p/a-grok-3-chat-2025-03-29
https://rscott51.substack.com/p/claude-35-haiku-chat-2025-04-04
Astronomical time is rotational by definition. Like I said, the speed of sound or electricity has nothing to do with the Earth's rotation. I'm not advocating a return to LMT use, only to a respect for the longitude of the observer and his local time as measured from Greenwich. This is accomplished through the revised formula that I'm advocating which avoids the chaos that would ensue from resetting clocks to pre-1883 days.
All astronomers use LAST calibration for telescopes, which formula honors the longitude of its location. If you had read the articles above, you'd not be talking about solving a problem that doesn't exist or confusing a "Cosmic Moment" (such as a New Moon) with a local time moment, which is different depending on the longitude separation from Greenwich.