Units of relativistic time scales and associated quantities

S. A. Klioner, N. Capitaine, W. M. Folkner, B. Guinot, T.-Y. Huang, S. M. Kopeikin, E. V. Pitjeva, P. K. Seidelmann, M. H. Soffel

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, Symposium 261, S. A. Klioner, P. K. Seidelmann and M. H. Soffel (Eds.) 79-84 (2010)

Abstract

This note suggests nomenclature for dealing with the units of various astronomical quantities that are used with the relativistic time scales TT, TDB, TCB and TCG. It is suggested to avoid wordings like “TDB units” and “TT units” and avoid contrasting them to “SI units”. The quantities intended for use with TCG, TCB, TT or TDB should be called “TCG-compatible”, “TCB-compatible”, “TT-compatible” or “TDB-compatible”, respectively. The names of the units second and meter for numerical values of all these quantities should be used without any adjectives. This suggestion comes from a special discussion forum created within IAU Commission 52 “Relativity in Fundamental Astronomy”.