Is there a measurement of time in outerspace? If so, how is it calculated?

Answer 1

Eisntein's theoru states that time is relative to your energy. Thos at high energy (travelling close to the speed of light or near a dense objest like a star or black hole) time runs slower.

For example, if you had a twin who went in a spceship around the galaxy at 90% the speed of light, when he comes back, he would only be an hour or two older and you would be 10 years older.

It seems odd but has been proven with atomic clocks on fighter planes. Yuor twin in the space ship would see you racng around like on fast forward, and you would see him in slow motion.

You would both experience time in the same way, and an hour to each of you would feel the same, but an hour would be completely different relative to somewhere else.

So, in asnwer to your question, we can only calculate time based on time with us from our persepective, but time elsewhere in the universe will be different.

Answer 2

Time is entirely a human construct, and outer space is no different. The astronauts up on the International Space Station operate on a standard 24-hour clock, which is synchronised with ground control in Baikonur (since NASA can never get their sh*t together).

On other planets, this can be an issue, because they have shorter and longer day/night cycles (in space day/night obviously isn't an issue). For example, probes sent to Mars - which has a day thirty-nine minutes longer than Earth's - operate with every unit of time stretched by 2.7%, or something like that.

Kim Stanley Robinson's "Mars" trilogy offers another solution; at midnight, all the clocks of Martian settlers stand still for thirty-nine minutes.

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timekeeping_on_Mars

Answer 3

Everything is set in its own time, otherwise the planets would collide with each other and the seasons of the earth would not be precise.

If you are talking about the 24 hour clock, that was designed for mans benefit around the timing of the planetary movements.

So the answer to your question is yes and it is more precise than man's time here on earth.

Answer 4

currently, a second is not a second it is now measured vibrations of certain atoms (one of them being quarts crystals). so insted of the atoms precise repitive vibrations being a second, its the other way round. so it does not matter about our position in the universe and our solar system and the rotaion or the earth and how long it takes to orbit the sun. so, i suppose, it can be used anywhere even in space. (im sorry about the lack of details and poor vocab. its hard to describe)

Answer 5

Clocks work just fine in space. If you need high accuracy, you can even correct them for relativistic effects due to your speed or approach to a massive object.

Doug

Answer 6

I would think an hour is an hour no matter where you are. Don't know for sure

Answer 7

sundials