Subject: Archival times (was: Re: WCS Proposal)

From: swalton at galileo.csun.edu (Stephen Walton)
Date: 18 Nov 1995 16:22:57 -0800

In article <48k7m8$2vi at darkstar.UCSC.EDU>,
Steve Allen <sla at umbra.ucolick.org> wrote:

>It remains to be seen whether the enormous amount of archival astronomical
>data stored in emulsion on glass plates will be deemed of sufficient value
>to convert to digital form.  

Peter Foukal just completed a project in which he digitized all the
Mount Wilson K-line spectroheliograms, more than 80 years' worth of
near-daily images.

>But for much of that data the specification
>of either UTC or TAI as the time system is inappropriate.

Is this really that much of an issue?  The difference between UTC and
GMT is never more than a few seconds, surely trivial when we're talking
about photographic plates with hour or more long exposures.

-- 
Stephen Walton, California State University, Northridge
"Be careful what you wish for;  you might get it."	swalton at csun.edu