Barycentric Dynamical Time
Barycentric Dynamical Time (TDB, from the French Temps Dynamique Barycentrique) is a relativistic coordinate time scale, intended for astronomical use as a time standard to take account of time dilation[1] when calculating orbits and astronomical ephemerides of planets, asteroids, comets and interplanetary spacecraft in the Solar System. TDB is now (since 2006) defined as a linear scaling of Barycentric Coordinate Time (TCB). A feature that distinguishes TDB from TCB is that TDB, when observed from the Earth's surface, has a difference from Terrestrial Time (TT) that is about as small as can be practically arranged with consistent definition: the differences are mainly periodic,[2] and overall will remain at less than 2 milliseconds for several millennia.[3]
TDB applies to the Solar-System-barycentric reference frame, and was first defined in 1976 as a successor to the (non-relativistic) former standard of ephemeris time (adopted by the IAU in 1952 and superseded 1976). In 2006, after a history of multiple time-scale definitions and deprecation since the 1970s,[4] a redefinition of TDB was approved by the IAU. The 2006 IAU redefinition of TDB as an international standard expressly acknowledged that the long-established JPL ephemeris time argument Teph, as implemented in JPL Development Ephemeris DE405, "is for practical purposes the same as TDB defined in this Resolution".[5] (By 2006, ephemeris DE405 had already been in use for a few years as the official basis for planetary and lunar ephemerides in the Astronomical Almanac; it was the basis for editions for 2003 through 2014; in the edition for 2015 it was superseded by DE430.[6])
Use of TDB[edit]
TDB is a successor of Ephemeris Time (ET), in that ET can be seen (within the limits of the lesser accuracy and precision achievable in its time) to be an approximation to TDB as well as to Terrestrial Time (TT) (see Ephemeris time § Implementations). TDB in the form of the very closely analogous, and practically equivalent, time scale Teph continues to be used for the important DE405 planetary and lunar ephemerides from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Arguments have been put forward for the continued practical use of TDB rather than TCB based on the very small size of the difference between TDB and TT, not exceeding 0.002 second, which can be neglected for many applications. It has been argued that the smallness of this difference makes for a lower risk of damage if TDB is ever confused with TT, compared to the possible damage of confusing TCB and TT, which have a relative linear drift of about 0.5 second per year,[12] (the difference was close to zero at the start of 1977, and by 2009 was already over a quarter of a minute and increasing).[8]