170
submitted 7 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/science@lemmy.world

Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC) needed due to differing gravitational forces

Nasa is working to create a new standard of time for the Moon that will see clocks move faster than on Earth, according to a White House memo.

The US Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) directed the US space agency to set up a moon-centric time reference system that accounts for its differing gravitational forces.

In a memo on Tuesday, OSTP chief Arati Prabhakar noted that Earth-based clocks would appear to lose 58.7 microseconds per Earth-day as a result of these factors.

Nasa has until 2026 to set up a unified time standard, which Ms Prabhakar referred to as Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC). It will then be used by astronauts, spacecraft and satellites that require highly accurate timekeeping.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

So atomic decay is dependant on gravity?

[-] cynar@lemmy.world 6 points 7 months ago

Atomic clocks don't use atomic decay. They used the frequency of the light emitted by a very specific energy change, within an atom, under very controlled conditions.

The frequency of light will look the same on the moon. However, an observer on earth would see a very slightly different frequency from the moon clock.

[-] mangaskahn@lemmy.world 6 points 7 months ago

The way I understand it is that time itself is altered by gravity and/or velocity. So atomic decay that occurs on a very specific cadence in each reference frame will not occur simultaneously in 2 or more different reference frames that are not in the same gravity, moving at the same velocity. There's even a measurable though very small difference in the passage of time between sea level and high mountains due to the difference in gravity. I'm leaving a lot out and there's a bunch of math involved, but i think that's mostly correct.

this post was submitted on 03 Apr 2024
170 points (97.2% liked)

science

14597 readers
578 users here now

just science related topics. please contribute

note: clickbait sources/headlines aren't liked generally. I've posted crap sources and later deleted or edit to improve after complaints. whoops, sry

Rule 1) Be kind.

lemmy.world rules: https://mastodon.world/about

I don't screen everything, lrn2scroll

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS