How light is noon on Pluto?

[Panich52]

How light is noon on Pluto?
Jun 08, 2015
by Eleanor Imster in » Science Wire, Space

See for yourself. NASA’s new Pluto Time website helps space fans replicate Pluto’s noontime light conditions from wherever you are in the world.

Just how dim is the sunlight on Pluto, some three billion miles away? Sunlight is much weaker than it is here on Earth, but it isn’t as dark as you might expect. In fact, for just a moment during dawn and dusk each day, the illumination on Earth matches that of high noon on Pluto.

NASA’s calling this “Pluto Time”. If you go outside at this time on a clear day, the world around you will be as dim as the surface of Pluto. NASA has unveiled a Pluto Time website that helps you replicate Pluto’s noontime light conditions from any location in the world. You can find your Pluto Time by entering your location into the NASA tool. It generates the exact time you can step outside and experience the noon light levels of Pluto.

NASA wants to see your view. Take a photo during your Pluto Time – preferably with a local landmark – and share it on social media with #PlutoTime.

More
http://earthsky.org/space/how-light-is-noon-on-pluto-see-for-yourself?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=449b436620-EarthSky_News&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-449b436620-393525109

[Panich52]

1. Link f/ Pluto Time website:

NASA

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/plutotime/

[pscot]

4. Wonderful site

ETA is Noon on Bastille Day.

[BlueJazz]

2. I'm not surprised. Even if the sun were 20 light years away, you'd be able to see it fairly easy.

[Tobin S.]

3. What a cool idea.

It will be as light as noon on Pluto here at 9:11PM this evening. I'll see if I can get a picture and post it here.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. They say my next Pluto Time is 9:25PM GMT - 1 hour 7 minutes after sunset

Last edited Wed Jun 10, 2015, 11:16 AM - Edit history (1)

which is 8:18PM GMT (9:18PM BST); after civil twilight has ended, for that matter. However, they also said 9:25PM GMT was 9 hours 21 minutes away, when it was 1204 BST, ie 1104 GMT.

Which makes this pretty useless, IMO. They aren't consistent about whether they're giving the 'answer' in daylight savings time or not. I'd expect NASA to do better. That one hour will make a lot of difference for how dark it is.

Your next Pluto time will be:
After sunset on June 10 at 9:25 PM GMT*
(9 hours, 21 minutes away)
* based on your computer's clock

On edit: I looked at their source code, and found the problem. They take the words that the operating system uses to describe the time zone, such as 'Pacific Daylight Time', and use the first one, so it says 'Pacific' in that case. Unfortunately, Microsoft Windows describes British Summer Time as "GMT Daylight Time", so when NASA just uses the first word, they say 'GMT' - which is completely misleading.

[marble falls]

6. Mine is 8:39 CST. Seems pretty darn light to me.