Methanespirit
August 21st, 2001, 06:12 PM
Local Mean (exact) Time (LMT) must also be determined because its value is used in every Astrological chart. LMT and "sundial time" are the same. Since "sundial time" is dependant on one's longitude location on the earth, there must be a longitude listing given for the location for which a chart is cast. There are available reference books known as an "Astrological Atlas". These books (and possibly on disks) give the longitude and latitude for practically every town and city within the states of the USA. Also, they have pre-determined what the LMT is for each location, which is given along side the longitude and latitude listings. Foreign locations are not as easy to find, however, many expensive world atlases give not only the significant city's longitude, latitude, what country they are located, but also their LMT.
There is another way to determine a location's LMT, by only knowing its longitde. Since a circle contains 360 degrees, the earth is also reckoned as the being the same. And since there are 24 hours to one earth rotation day, divide 360 deg. by 24 hrs ,and we get 15 degrees. This means that each time zone contains at least 15 degrees of longitude. (Some more or less, depending on how a country has divided its hourly longitudes), Also, by taking the location's longitude and dividing that value by 15, we get that location's LMT. For example, let us say that we need to know the LMT of West Hollywood, Calif., and all we have is the longitude of that city, which is 118W21.6, that is, 118 degrees and 21.6 minutes west of Greenwich. The minutes must be converted into a decimal by using a standard 4-function calculator. 21.6 divided by 60 (60 minutes per degree)= 0.36 degrees. Now enter into the calculator 118.36 degrees, divided by 15= 7.890667 hours. Subtract the 7 hours from the answer, leaving .890667, and multiply that by 60= 53 minutes. Subtract the 53 minutes, and multiply the remainder (.43999) by 60 again and the answer will be 26 seconds of time (rounded off) . Therefore, West Hollywood is behind Greenwich time by 7:53:26. Now, it should be recognized that although the PST zone difference to Greenwich is 8 hours, the LMT for West Hollywood is 00:06:34 (six minutes and 34 seconds) ahead of 8 hours.
NEVER calculate the planets and Luminaries of a birth chart by using the LMT, but rather by the Greenwich clock time of the event. The only place the LMT is used for a birth or event is when only the LMT is given at the location. (For those who are interested in historical Astrological research, sundial time may be the only given time reference , especially before the current Time Zones were internationally recognized.) Otherwise, the LMT difference to the Greenwich meridian is used ONLY to determine the Ascendant and Midheaven of a chart.
For our second example I shall do the same, but for New Delhi, India . The world atlas gives this city's longitude as 77E12, that is New Delhi, India is 77 degrees and 12 minutes east, or ahead, of the Greenwich meridian. Proceed as before: 12 minutes divided by 60 =0.2. Add this to the 77 degrees, = 77.2 divided by 15 =5.14667 hours. Subtract the 5 hours, this leaves 0.14667. Multiply this by 60= 8 minutes. Subtract the 8 minutes, this leaves 0.7999. Multiply this by 60 = 48 seconds of time. Therefore, New Delhi, India is 5:08:48 ahead of the Greenwich meridian.
The values of LMT must be entered into the chart's critical info. list, next to the location, including latitude and longitude, for which the chart is cast.
There is another way to determine a location's LMT, by only knowing its longitde. Since a circle contains 360 degrees, the earth is also reckoned as the being the same. And since there are 24 hours to one earth rotation day, divide 360 deg. by 24 hrs ,and we get 15 degrees. This means that each time zone contains at least 15 degrees of longitude. (Some more or less, depending on how a country has divided its hourly longitudes), Also, by taking the location's longitude and dividing that value by 15, we get that location's LMT. For example, let us say that we need to know the LMT of West Hollywood, Calif., and all we have is the longitude of that city, which is 118W21.6, that is, 118 degrees and 21.6 minutes west of Greenwich. The minutes must be converted into a decimal by using a standard 4-function calculator. 21.6 divided by 60 (60 minutes per degree)= 0.36 degrees. Now enter into the calculator 118.36 degrees, divided by 15= 7.890667 hours. Subtract the 7 hours from the answer, leaving .890667, and multiply that by 60= 53 minutes. Subtract the 53 minutes, and multiply the remainder (.43999) by 60 again and the answer will be 26 seconds of time (rounded off) . Therefore, West Hollywood is behind Greenwich time by 7:53:26. Now, it should be recognized that although the PST zone difference to Greenwich is 8 hours, the LMT for West Hollywood is 00:06:34 (six minutes and 34 seconds) ahead of 8 hours.
NEVER calculate the planets and Luminaries of a birth chart by using the LMT, but rather by the Greenwich clock time of the event. The only place the LMT is used for a birth or event is when only the LMT is given at the location. (For those who are interested in historical Astrological research, sundial time may be the only given time reference , especially before the current Time Zones were internationally recognized.) Otherwise, the LMT difference to the Greenwich meridian is used ONLY to determine the Ascendant and Midheaven of a chart.
For our second example I shall do the same, but for New Delhi, India . The world atlas gives this city's longitude as 77E12, that is New Delhi, India is 77 degrees and 12 minutes east, or ahead, of the Greenwich meridian. Proceed as before: 12 minutes divided by 60 =0.2. Add this to the 77 degrees, = 77.2 divided by 15 =5.14667 hours. Subtract the 5 hours, this leaves 0.14667. Multiply this by 60= 8 minutes. Subtract the 8 minutes, this leaves 0.7999. Multiply this by 60 = 48 seconds of time. Therefore, New Delhi, India is 5:08:48 ahead of the Greenwich meridian.
The values of LMT must be entered into the chart's critical info. list, next to the location, including latitude and longitude, for which the chart is cast.