This question appears in Mumbai University > Satellite Communication and Network subject

Marks: 5 M

Year: May 2013

• A sidereal day is defined as one complete rotation of earth relative to the fixed stars.
• One sidereal day has 24 sidereal hours, one sidereal hour has 60 sidereal minutes, and one sidereal minute has 60 sidereal seconds.

• A sidereal day is time taken for earth to rotate about its axis so that the distant stars appear in the same position in sky whereas solar day is the time taken for earth to rotate about its axis so that the sun appears in the same position in the sky.
• A sidereal day is shorter than a solar day.
• Care must be taken to distinguish between sidereal times and mean solar times which use the same basic sub divisions.