Universal Time
Universal Time, or GMT, is what astronomers use. 0 hours UT equals midnight
in Greenwich, England, where the concept of UT originated. The old Greenwich
Observatory was used as the standard. UT uses military time (0 to 23).
Whenever astronomical events are listed in magazines or online, they are
usually listed in in UT. It's easy to translate UT into your own local
time. The simplest way is to remember when 0 hours (0:00) UT occurs in
your time zone. In the United States Eastern Time Zone, 0 hours UT occurs
at 7 pm. (8pm when daylight savings time is in effect). 0 hours UT occurs
at 6pm Central Standard Time, 5 pm Mountain Standard Time, and 4 pm Pacific
Standard time.
The other important key is to remember to jump one day ahead. If the current
time in New York is 7:01 pm on February 1st, then in UT the time is 0:01
on February 2nd. (Remember, its midnight in England). For
example, if a lunar eclipse is scheduled to happen at 0:57 on February
2nd, then you need to go out on the night of February 1st, at 7:57
pm to see it. Also remember, UT is notated in the 24 hour notation: 13:07
UT equals 8:07 am EST.
OK, now here's some quizzes for you:
What time is it in UT on March 12th, at 11:15 pm Eastern Standard Time?
Answer
What time is it in UT on March 15th, at 6:45 pm Eastern Standard Time?
Answer
What time is it in UT on March 20th, at 1:20 am Eastern Standard Time?
Answer