The minute is a unit of time and is a multiple of an SI base unit with the symbol m.
There are 60 seconds in a minute. There are 60 minutes in an hour.
The Iranian scholar and polymath Al-Biruni who lived through the Islamic Golden Age (circa 1000 AD) was the first to split the hour sexagesimally (by 60) and introduced what we now understand as the “minute”.
It is understood in modern society to represent a relatively short amount of time – and is used very commonly in language to ask for a short break; hence the phrase “wait a minute”, “uno momento” and “un moment s’il vous plait”.
The sidereal hour is a unit of time used by astronomers and is derived from the SI unit system. We have used the symbol hr-sr.
1 sidereal hour is made up of 60 sidereal minutes. This is derived ultimately from the sidereal day which is the time taken (in solar seconds) for the Earth to complete one rotation with respect to a distant star or constellation.
The sidereal hour angle is used when calculating sidereal time which is actually the angle along the celestial equator; from where one stands to the great circle that travels through the March equinox and both celestial poles.