Oblivion:Time

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Time in Oblivion is measured in several different ways. Many events are measured based on the elapsed game time (or in-game time); but other events are measured based on real time (the passage of time in the real world). Game time passes faster than real time, by a factor of 30 (1 minute real time = 30 minutes game time).

The game clock (showing the in-game date and time), can be seen in your Journal on the Map tabs, or on the Active Quest tab. The time is measured using a standard 24 hour clock, but the date is based upon Tamriel's calendar. Game time always pauses when you are in Journal mode or have any other menu open. Many events in the world of Oblivion are dictated by the time of day:

Sunrise always 6 am and sunset at 8 pm (particularly important for characters subject to Sun Damage)
Most people in Tamriel have daily schedules. In particular, merchants, trainers, and other people who offer services only have fixed times when they will offer services.
Most items (containers, dungeons, creatures, flora) will change (be reset) after 72 hours (3 days) game time.
There are 12 months, and anywhere between 28-31 days in each, as well as seven days in a week.

On the other hand, the durations of Magical Effects such as spells and potions are measured in real time, not game time. Time spent in menus does not count against effect durations.

[edit] Tips

Use the Wait key to quickly view the time, day of the week, and date. Press the key again (or select cancel) to go back without actually "waiting." This is the only place (outside of the PC Console) where you can view the name of the day of the week.

[edit] See Also

Calendar: details of the calendar used in Oblivion.
set timescale: a Console command that can be used to alter the default ratio of game time to real time.