Gravitational Time Dilation Data Points

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

(2 Peter 3:8) KJV

The first data point we have for Gravitational Time Dilation is the one from GPS satellites. After that we have to be fairly creative.

At an orbital radius of 26,541 km above the center of the earth time passes faster on GPS satellites by 38,640 nanoseconds per day.

– GPS Time Dilation

There are a couple of others so far, but more could be added given the amount of data available from our exploration of space. What’s interesting is that from our position on the Earth, the source of gravity, the passage of a day on Earth is like a thousand years in heaven. This solves the issue of how fast the cosmos is rotating if it is orbiting the Earth every day. Nothing has to go faster than the speed of light because its rotational speed has to be divided by the time dilation factor for its orbital radius.

At the same time, as we descend into the interior of the Earth, sheol, time passes more slowly such that a day in sheol is like 1,000 years on the surface of earth. 2 Peter 3:8 is a perfect mathematical expression of this phenomenon. Mars is an interesting one and it illustrates the extraordinary ability of scientists to confound an incredibly simple issue. It’s got its own post.

Gravitational Time Dilation Data Points

	Distance from Source	Location	Time Dilation
1	0	Center of earth	0
2	4,100 km	Sheol	1 day
3	6,371 km	Surface of earth	1,000 yrs
4	26,541 km	GPS Satellites	+38,640 ns/day
5	54,600,000 km	Mars	+40 mins/day
6	Unknown distance	The Firmament	1,000,000 yrs

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