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#1 2007-06-06 02:19:50
Re: A Question of Time
I'm co-creating a web-based comic book that takes place on Mars. (I had a thread in the terraformation section where I asked questions, but this doesn't quite have to do with terraformation.)
Anyway, I'm trying to determine which method of time measurement would be the most practical for a society living on Mars. I have read that the system used by the rovers simply extends the length of the second so that the Martian day is 24 hours. I am currently leaning toward that method, but I would like to hear other views since I understand that there is a level of debate on the issue.
Artist for [url=www.red-oasis.com]Red Oasis[/url]
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#2 2007-06-06 05:04:19
- cIclops
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- Registered: 2005-06-16
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Re: A Question of Time
This seems to be a never ending topic, hi Ancalagon 
Mars time is tricky not only because the sol (Martian day) is just over 24.6 hours but also becuase the year is almost 689 days. There is no simple system that can keep it synchronized with Earth time. However, people can adapt to longer day/sol cycles so future Martians will probably keep their own local time. Furthermore the orbit of Mars is more elliptical than Earth's, the seasonal pattern is different, Spring is much longer than Autumn.
AFAIK the Mars rovers do not adjust their internal clocks, however they do count sols as solar power and lighting are dependent on local time. Internal clock pulses would be converted into sols or Earth time as required. Earth time is probably used for communications and local time for planning sequences. If anyone has better information please say!
Yes one way would be to extend the second and keep the ancient 24 hour/60 minutes/60 seconds system. But note that adjustments have to be made to Earth time already, seconds are added to the year and this would be very messy as the adjustments would be different for Mars.
Maxie has made a wiki page about Mars calendars and time that should be helpful.
This topic would probably be better in a different forum, perhaps here?
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#3 2007-06-17 18:03:23
Re: A Question of Time
Thank you, ciclops. That link was extremely helpful.
I have another question, though I'd rather not create an entirely new thread. It sort of has to do with time but it has more to do with astronomy.
Supposing you lived on Mars and were required (for religious reasons) to locate Earth in the sky several times a day. How would you do this if you were without any sort of computer to do it for you? Could it be done with a sort of wheel map?
Artist for [url=www.red-oasis.com]Red Oasis[/url]
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#4 2007-12-14 15:51:09
Re: A Question of Time
For the time system, I would of course feel greatly honored if you used the Weitian calendar (www.newmars.com/wiki/indec.php/Weitian_calendar). That would, of course, be because I made it up 
About finding earth, A computer would of course be best, just a simple desktop one.
Lacking that, the earth is always within X degrees of the sun, so from day A to day B you could pray to the slightly 'west' of the sun, and from day B to day C, you could prey slightly to the 'east' of the sun.
Might not be a good idea to prey towards the sun at all, though, looking at it can damage your eyes 8)
-Josh
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#5 2021-07-04 05:18:19
- Mars_B4_Moon
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- Registered: 2006-03-23
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Re: A Question of Time
Martian Calender thread is here, updtaed by Tahanson43206
http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=2760&p=45
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NASA's Atomic Clock Will Transform Deep Space Exploration
https://hypebeast.com/2021/6/nasa-deep- … xploration
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