| |
Minute
A minute is:
- a unit of time
equal to 1/60th of a hour and
to 60 seconds. (Some rare
minutes have 59 or 61 seconds; see leap
second.)
- a unit
of angle, 1/60th of a degree.
It is then also known as a minute of angle or minute
of arc, and can further be divided into 60 seconds
of arc.
The Earth turns on its polar axis through fifteen minutes of arc in every minute of time. A minute of arc at the Earth's equator is a nautical mile.