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GPS time was intentionally designed not to be perturbed by leap seconds. Other time sources based on atomic clocks have this property too. Makes sense if you c

by gyonip 4y ago

GPS time was intentionally designed not to be perturbed by leap seconds. Other time sources based on atomic clocks have this property too. Makes sense if you consider that GPS relates to the Earth, but leap seconds apply to the relationship between the Earth and the Sun.

the_mitsuhiko 4y ago
That is misleading. Leap seconds are considered by GPS but the primary time source does not include them. However a receiver can without additional information correct leap seconds if it listens for leap second announcements coming in from the stream. They are announced every ~12 minutes and months in advance.
- gyonip 4y ago
  Agreed, thanks, I've changed "GPS" to "GPS time" in my original comment to clarify. I apologise for the misleading original phrasing.
- habibur 4y ago
  Surprisingly, right now this comment is most down voted one on this page, and it's the most informative.
zinekeller 4y ago
> Other time sources based on atomic clocks have this property too. Of all GNSS systems, GLONASS is the one that is intrinsically connected to leap seconds as it syncs up to Moscow time (UTC+3), instead of basing on TAI, TAI+3 or another monotonic timer. This causes problems (https://eos-gnss.com/knowledge-base/articles/technical-bulletin-1701-glonass-leap-second https://eos-gnss.com/knowledge-base/articles/technical-bulle...).