Sidereal Time Experiment

The diagram above shows that there is a difference of approx 4 mins between a sidereal day and a solar day.

Here's a great app that shows the difference pictorially.
sidereal Solar Time



The following experiment is designed to test the hypothesis that a sidereal day is shorter than solar day.

Aim:
To show that a sidereal day is shorter than a solar day and to quantify the difference.

Method:
Regular observations of a reference star crossing a reference meridian noting times.
Reference star is Rigel with Alnitak used to verify results.
The process of capturing the times when Rigel and Alnitak crosses a point in space was automated using Canon EOS 1000D controlled by software known as Backyard EOS.
To ensure a consistent line of sight, 2 landmarks were kept in alignment.
Landmarks used to ensure consistency of the field of view were:
1. Power pole
2. Apex of neighbours roof.



















Results:

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Nov 7 2011












  Nov 14 2011














 Nov 22 2011

Dec 01 2011