2 ms·
The length of the solar day is not constant, for two primary reasons (non-circularity of Earth's orbit, and the obliquity of the ecliptic [1]). It varies from t
by Sharlin 2y ago
The length of the solar day is not constant, for two primary reasons (non-circularity of Earth's orbit, and the obliquity of the ecliptic [1]). It varies from the length of the mean solar day by up to 30 seconds, accumulating a seasonal error of up to 15 minutes or so compared to wallclock time.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_time#Apparent_solar_time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_time#Apparent_solar_time
- jvanderbot 2y agoBut it varies continuously on scales much smaller than seasonal changes. And seasonal changes are what affect day/night times. Without discrete jumps, you can actually consider a solar-noon to solar-noon time cycle as a day, and see that day + night must add up to a constant for any given cycle, therefore more night means less day.
- Sharlin 2y agoThat's true. It offsets both sunrise and sunset the same amount.