[irdc]

Time zones are arbitrary and the result of a historical accident. If the standardisation of timekeeping were to have happened in Amsterdam (not unlikely seeing the history of telescope development[0]) the issue would have been moot as UTC would be what is now UTC+0:19:32.13.

0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_telescope

[jonathankoren]

15 degrees an hour is not arbitrary.

It’s an astronomical fact