I have a question about the time of landing on Mars. In the explanation it states "August 5, 2012 at 10:32pm (PDT)". I have however seen the landing time given as about 10:15 pm under Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). As the time lag between the landing and when that information was received was around 15 minutes I wonder if the 10:32pm PDT landing time is correct or if that was when the news was received. Thanks for an answer to this.
Re: APOD: A Wheel on Mars (2012 Aug 07)
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 8:23 pm
by ta152h0
for historical records, I remember, on the tv machine, seeing the team at JPL erupting in cheers and hugs right about 10.31 PM at Grand Coulee , Washington state.
Re: APOD: A Wheel on Mars (2012 Aug 07)
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 8:26 pm
by Chris Peterson
DavidLeodis wrote:I have a question about the time of landing on Mars. In the explanation it states "August 5, 2012 at 10:32pm (PDT)". I have however seen the landing time given as about 10:15 pm under Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). As the time lag between the landing and when that information was received was around 15 minutes I wonder if the 10:32pm PDT landing time is correct or if that was when the news was received. Thanks for an answer to this.
The landing was certainly observed at around 10:30 pm PDT, so the suggestion that the earlier time represents when it "really" happened is reasonable.
Re: APOD: A Wheel on Mars (2012 Aug 07)
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 9:15 pm
by BMAONE23
DavidLeodis wrote:I have a question about the time of landing on Mars. In the explanation it states "August 5, 2012 at 10:32pm (PDT)". I have however seen the landing time given as about 10:15 pm under Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). As the time lag between the landing and when that information was received was around 15 minutes I wonder if the 10:32pm PDT landing time is correct or if that was when the news was received. Thanks for an answer to this.
Currently the "Light Distance" to Mars is 13.9 minutes and steadily though slowly growing. So while the information about the event reached us at 10:31pm Pacific Time, it actually happened at 10:17pm Pacific Time and the signal took 13.9 minutes to reach us. So while the event happened at 10:17, we didn't know and couldn't celebrate the fact until the signal reached us http://www.physics.emory.edu/astronomy/ ... /calc.html Here is a real time distance clock to Mars
Re: APOD: A Wheel on Mars (2012 Aug 07)
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 9:32 pm
by DavidLeodis
Thanks all for your responses, which are appreciated.
Psnarf wrote:
Lessee, shoot a 4-ton 9-ft high x 14-ft diameter over 350 million miles, then drop a one-ton semi-autonomous nuclear-powered ATV on target in working condition 13.8 light-minutes away?
