Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between sidereal and solar time?
Sidereal time tracks the rotation of the Earth relative to the distant stars, while solar time tracks it relative to the Sun. A sidereal day is about four minutes shorter, so the sidereal clock slowly gains on the civil clock over a year.
Why do I need to enter UTC instead of my local time?
The sidereal time formula is anchored to Greenwich and Coordinated Universal Time. Entering your local civil time would introduce your time zone offset as an error, so convert to UTC first and let the longitude field handle the local shift.
What does local sidereal time tell me?
An object whose right ascension equals your local sidereal time is crossing the meridian, meaning it is due south and at its highest point in the sky. Astronomers use this to plan when a target is best placed for observation.
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