The
Julian Day (JD), used in
astronomical algorithms, is the number of days since noon at Greenwich
on 1 Jan 4713 BC.
The
sidereal time is measured by
the rotation of the Earth, with respect to the stars (rather than
relative to the Sun). Local sidereal
time
is the right ascension (RA, an equatorial coordinate) of a star on the
observers meridian. One sidereal day corresponds to the time taken for
the Earth to rotate once with respect to the stars and lasts
approximately 23 h 56 min.
The
sidereal time is a direct indication of whether a celestial object of
known right ascension is observable at that instant. Applet of W.
Fendt:
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