concept

Synodic day

Orbital mechanicsAstronomy

The time it takes the sun to return to the same place in the local sky - from one sunrise to the next. This is the "day" we actually live by. It runs a little longer than the sidereal day because, after a full 360° turn, the body must rotate a touch further to catch up with the star it has drifted past along its orbit. Pandora's canon never distinguishes the two.

See also

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