How is time measured outside our planet when time is relative to the earth revolving around the sun

Question

How is time measured outside our planet when time is relative to the earth revolving around the sun

Answer 1

A rose by any other name... One minute of time on earth is the same as one minute of time on Pluto, as it is orbiting Sirius, as it is in the middle of the VIrgo Cluster. The earth's revolution around the sun simply defines the word "year". One earth year happens to be apprx 365.25 days long. Each earth day happens to be 24 hours, etc. One revolution of Jupiter around the sun defines the jovian year (12 earth years.) If you traveled to Mars to settle there, your mind would still be accustomed to earth year standards. But as time progresses, you will shift your internal clock to martian standards, but still a minute is a minute. I hope this was not too confusing.

Answer 2

Wrong - time is not measured relative to Earths orbital period.

The most accurate way to measure time is currently the oscillation of a excited hydrogen atom (MASER clock). The rotation of Earth around the sun is just the base for the definition of a year. The only elemental unit which is not defined by conventions is the second. One day has 86400 seconds, etc...

So, a year in ground elapsed time will always be 365 (or 366) times 86400 seconds long - regardless where you are. Mars or Jupiter years are only used as reference for climate effects - seasons.

Answer 3

Time 'doesn't care' how, or even if,  it's measured.

It was going on before there was an earth.

Any 'measurement' is in artificially selected units.

Answer 4

Time itself is not related to Earth's rotation around the sun. Clocks in space at sub-relativistic speeds will not be very far off in counting the nanoseconds, not enough error to really worry about.

Answer 5

Urwumpe I'm not sure you follow what the asker is meaning......

Time is completely relative to the Earth, even if its the same span somewhere else when considering WHAT WE CALL THEM

we call 365 days a year because thats how long it takes the Earth to make one full rotation around the sun....to say its irrelevant elsewhere is silly...

For example, it takes Mars 687 Earth days to circle the sun

we obviously can't call one full rotation on mars a year, its not the same.....we call it Earth days because that is OUR frame of reference

A day on Earth is 24  hours beacause thats how long it takes the earth to turn in a full circle within its orbit....

it would take venus 88 Earth hours to make one turn in its orbit

if it takes 88 hours im sure if you lived on Venus you would need a completely different system for counting up time to make a day, and your sleep schedule could evolve comletely differently

sure time is flowing at the same rate of speed everywhere in the universe, but how we label the intervals of time is going to change radically depending on where we are

an Earth day is different than a venus day

an Earth year is different than a Mars year....

in an age of interstellar travel who knows what we will agree on....

every species of every planet would have some different relevance for counting what they perceive as time

Answer 6

Well since there are only (as far as we know) people on Earth, we measure time relative to Earth and its cycles. However, we do say, for example, that a year on say Pluto is whatever number of Earth days.  

Answer 7

Time is not measured in relation to the earth orbiting the sun.  Time is a continuous effect that can be divided into any sort of units and counted according to any sort of numbering system.  The measurement system does not affect the more basic nature of time itself.

Most human enterprise uses solar time calculations because they are convenient for purposes of navigation and commerce.  Astronomers think in terms of sidereal time.

Most space flights, including the ISS, use coordinated universal time.

For more information, try an internet search on "coordinated universal time" or on "sidereal time."

Answer 8

You all miss the point, time does not exist, it is a man made concept. Earth is a mere speck in the universe. Why does it need time zones? Think about it.