Celestia Forums

I have a little conversion headache: i must convert a datetime from PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) to UTC for getting a usable reference for Celestia. The conversion is not a problem of course, but the question is: should i add 7 or 8 hours?

Using a web-based converter, i am asked for a PDT location, and must choose from Vancoulver (8 hours) and Tijuana (7 hours). There is no indication what might be correct in this case. Any suggestions? What to do?

-rthorvald

rthorvald wrote:I have a little conversion headache: i must convert a datetime from PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) to UTC for getting a usable reference for Celestia. The conversion is not a problem of course, but the question is: should i add 7 or 8 hours?

Using a web-based converter, i am asked for a PDT location, and must choose from Vancoulver (8 hours) and Tijuana (7 hours). There is no indication what might be correct in this case. Any suggestions? What to do?

-rthorvald

Runar,

give me the exact place then XEphem will very probably know it and do the conversion right.

Bye Fridger

t00fri wrote:give me the exact place then XEphem will very probably know it and do the conversion right.

Mountain View (midway between San Fransisco and San Jose).

Thanks!

- rthorvald

Off topic, but I went to a private high school in Mountain View, cool that you are doing something with that as a point of interest.

Don. Edwards

Since California is entirely in the Pacific Time zone (UTC -8 ), DST would make it UTC-7.

I should know, since I'm in Eureka, CA, just about as far removed from S.F. or L.A. and STILL be in California....

Remember, since we're in west longitude, it's negative UTC/GMT hours, so if you move an hour ahead, it's -n+1, ie: -8 for PST, -7 for PDT.

d.m.f.
(somewhere in the redwoods)

Don. Edwards wrote:Off topic, but I went to a private high school in Mountain View, cool that you are doing something with that as a point of interest

Well, there??s only some data that originated there, not much will happen on this spot in Celestia...

d.m.falk wrote:Since California is entirely in the Pacific Time zone (UTC -8 ), DST would make it UTC-7

Thanks; i??ll work with this for now.

-rthorvald

Would it happen to be Ames Research Center in Mountain View?

Just to confuse things, the clocks went forward in the UK (and Europe?) today, but they didn't in North America. So now California is 9 hours behind UK time... at least til next week when North America 'springs forward'.

Not really, since UTC and GMT, even though they mark the same time zone, are considered separate, since UTC does not change for summertime, unlike GMT becoming BST, which you now are in.

d.m.f.
(Aren't time zones fun?? )

Don. Edwards wrote:Would it happen to be Ames Research Center in Mountain View?

No, it??s the Google Labs.
Here??s what it is about (this is a series of Celestia screenshots, at the rate of one per hour):


... The blue and yellow lights shows people googling (when and where).
... The bumpmap and color overlay is the Earth??s population density.

-rthorvald

Wow (your avatar came in handy here )