Physics 155: Useful terms

Some Terms You Should Know: the Sun

These are some terms you will come across in your lab class dealing with the sun and timekeeping.

Apparent Time (AT) or Solar Time: The time calculated using the Sun's true motion. A sundial reads the Apparent Time.
Equation of Time (E/T): The Equation of Time gives the difference in Right Ascension between the Sun (used to reckon AT) and the ficticious Mean Sun (used to reckon MT). That means it also gives the correction between the AT from a sundial and the local MT.
Mean Time (MT): Sometimes called Civil Time, it's the time calculated using the Mean Solar day (precisely 24 hours) and assuming that the Earth's orbital speed is constant throughout the year. This is the time you normally use.
Sidereal Time (ST): The time claculated with respect to the stars rather than the sun. The Siderial Day is about 23 hours 56 minutes.
Universal Time (UT) or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT): The Mean Time at 0 degrees longitude. (It is sometimes called GMT because this is the longitude of the Royal observatory in Greenwich, England.)