Change in Venus Express's local time at ascending node
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Date: 17 August 2012
Satellite: Venus Express
Depicts: Change in Venus Express's local time at ascending node
Copyright: ESA
The Local Time at Ascending Node (LTAN) is the local time at which the spacecraft passes the Venusian equator on the ascending branch. For the first orbit (2144, on 4 March 2012), the LTAN is 23:47, for the last orbit (2171, on 31 March 2012), it is 02:42.
As on Earth, standard time zones are defined by geometrically subdividing Venus' spheroid into 24 wedge-shaped sections bordered by meridians, each 15° longitude apart. The local time in neighboring zones would differ by one Venus hour, or 1/24th of a Venus day. The variation in the position of the Sun from one end of the zone to the other (East vs. West) would be 1/24th of the sky.
Last Update: 1 September 2019