Celestial Standard Time

CE 324

Celestial Standard Time is an intergalactic timekeeping method created by the Aalindari at the birth of their first forays into space. The unit was created in advance to resolve day length disrepancies between the various planets and moons to be inhabited, both across their home sector and outside it. It was later adopted by the Terrans, who spread it to the far corners of the galaxy through megacorporations as an efficient way of consolidating time for the purpose of travel, scheduling and workshifts. Most planets colonized after the Age of Celestial Exploration start on Celestial Standard Time, and eventually create an additional planetary calendar to track seasons and years, with most datapads shifting seamlessly between the two at the press of a button.

System

The standard created is one based on metric time; the second remains unchanged by the Aalindari, but the length of a day is shifted to a hundred thousand (100,000) seconds, known as a Celestial Standard Day. Every unit thereafter denotes an increase of a factor of 10. A year consists of a thousand days, a hundred turns, or ten cycles.

Units

CSD - Celestial Standard Day

The Celestial Standard Day (CSD) is a standard time unit that denotes the length of one day to be relative to a hundred thousand (100,000) seconds. By Terran standards, one CSD is equal to 28 hours.

Most astrosapient species maintain a circadian rhythm of around a day. In that time they wake up, groom themselves, eat, interact socially, work, and maintain recreational activities at their own convenience. Around a third of the day is spent asleep. Usually, the day shifts over within this time.

CS10D - The Turn

While not as strictly maintained by the Aalindari, a Turn is a colloquial term used to denote the passing of ten celestial standard days. The term was first coined by Terran space station technicians, whose homes would spin around fully over the course of ten days to align with supply ships while maintaining their gravity fields.

The time is often used for scheduling purposes; most astrosapients will have three days off their work in a turn. Small stores are often resupplied once a turn, and certain recreational activities may take place on a specific day within a turn (The tenth of the turn, the sixth of the turn, etc.)

CS100D - The Cycle

Similar to the Turn, the Cycle is a term used to denote the passing of ten turns. It was coined by Terran technicians to denote the period on which most early station technology had to be cycled in order to prevent systems from degrading due to continued use. As technology improved and the cycling of power became less commonplace, the term stuck and expanded.

CS1000D / CSY / CY - The Celestial Standard Year

The Celestial Standard Year, often simplified as a Celestial Year, or simply a Year, is a standard time unit that denotes the length of one year to be relative to a hundred million (1*10^8) seconds, or a thousand days.