# What time is it a mile east of me. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 12, 2019, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130 "2019-09-12T22:04:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/1 "2019-09-12T22:04:11Z")
Okay, I know the official time is the same time as me. But if we were to do the math, what time would it be a mile east of me if it were exactly 12pm? ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/2 "2019-09-12T22:07:52Z")
What lattitude? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/3 "2019-09-12T22:08:06Z")
If I understand your question properly, the answer is going to depend quite a bit on your latitude. At / near the South Pole, one mile east is going to be quite a few time zones away. At the equator, not so much. ETA: ninja’d, but I want extra credit for spelling latitude correctly. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/4 "2019-09-12T22:08:45Z")
Wouldn’t that depend on your latitude? Time, in the sense you’re asking, is a function of the angle of arc you subtend on the surface of the globe, so 1 mile at thee equator would be different than one mile at, say, 45[sup]o[/sup] north. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/5 "2019-09-12T22:12:31Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > If I understand your question properly, the answer is going to depend quite a bit on your latitude. At / near the South Pole, one mile east is going to be quite a few time zones away. At the equator, not so much. > > ETA: ninja’d, but I want extra credit for spelling latitude correctly. 😉 I blame my phone. It should have caught my idiocy. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/6 "2019-09-12T22:15:36Z")
I didn’t even think about latitude. I live in Dallas, but if using the equator makes it easier, we can go with that. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/7 "2019-09-12T22:15:57Z")
Yes, it depends on your latitude. At the equator, the earth’s circumference is not too far from 25000 miles. So there, one mile is roughly 1/1000 of an hour, so about 4 seconds. At 45 degrees, it’s close to 17,500 miles. One mile would be about 1/750 of an hour, so about 5 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/8 "2019-09-12T22:18:30Z")
What is your latitude? It is 4 minutes later for each degree of longitude. At the equator, a degree is approximately 25,000/360, nearly 70 miles. It comes to about 3.5 sec. But if you are at 45 degrees latitude, the length of a circle at the latitude is not 25,000 miles, but only the square root of 2 (cos 45) times that so that one mile east is nearly 5 seconds. Other latitudes will give other answers. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/9 "2019-09-12T22:21:26Z")
You guys are great. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/10 "2019-09-12T22:21:53Z")
The circumference of the Earth at the Equator is 24,901 miles. Since there are 86,400 seconds in a day, it will be 3.47 seconds later by sun time one mile east of you if you are on the Equator. ETA: Ninja’d, but I gave more decimal places.😉 ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/11 "2019-09-12T22:24:16Z")
Running the numbers for Dallas, I get 4.1 seconds, which seems about right, so hopefully I didn’t do anything silly in the calculation. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/12 "2019-09-12T22:38:45Z")
Why do you want to know what time it is in Mesquite? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mjmlabs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mjmlabs/32/69_2.png) [@mjmlabs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmlabs)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/13 "2019-09-12T23:39:46Z")
Fun fact: If you’re at 89° 59’ 51.745’’ N (give or take a few feet of latitude), then the time a mile east of you is … the same as the time where you are. Well, it was fun for _me._ ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/14 "2019-09-13T00:13:41Z")
> [@mjmlabs](#): > > Fun fact: If you’re at 89° 59’ 51.745’’ N (give or take a few feet of latitude), then the time a mile east of you is … the same as the time where you are. > > Well, it was fun for _me._ What time is it, Yogi? Yogi Berra: You mean now? ---
**Author:** ![LTU2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/22d042/32.png) [@LTU2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LTU2)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/15 "2019-09-13T01:40:03Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > What time is it, Yogi? > > Yogi Berra: You mean now? Moe: Shemp, what does your watch say? Shemp: Nothing, you got to look at it. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/16 "2019-09-13T03:16:24Z")
Tom Scott’s take on [a similar question](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRz-Dl60Lfc). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/17 "2019-09-13T12:01:06Z")
You’re calculation must allow some latitude for the distance you are from the equator. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/18 "2019-09-13T12:10:12Z")
Thanks for the answers guys. So just to wrap my mind around this. Is a guy sitting at the equator spinning around on the planet faster than a guy siting in Alaska? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/19 "2019-09-13T12:22:01Z")
If we want to nitpick, altitude affects the equation also because of gravitational time dilation. Hey, a millionth of a second here, a millionth of a second there; it adds up. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130/20 "2019-09-13T12:34:37Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Thanks for the answers guys. > > So just to wrap my mind around this. Is a guy sitting at the equator spinning around on the planet faster than a guy siting in Alaska? In relation to what? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-is-it-a-mile-east-of-me/840130.md?page=2)