What does the NOW() function in PHP return and how is it related to server time?

The NOW() function in PHP returns the current date and time in the format "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS". This function is related to the server time because it retrieves the current date and time based on the server's timezone settings. If the server's timezone is incorrect, the NOW() function will return the wrong date and time.

// Get the current date and time based on the server's timezone
$now = date("Y-m-d H:i:s");
echo $now;