3 ms·

> Starting in 1972, international timekeepers decided to add a “leap second” in June or December for astronomical time to catch up to the atomic time, called Co

> Starting in 1972, international timekeepers decided to add a “leap second” in June or December for astronomical time to catch up to the atomic time, called Coordinated Universal Time or UTC. I still fail to grasp why anyone should give two hoots about this. Seconds shmeconds. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Is it because astronomers don't want to fix their own substandard software, so instead they have pushed the cost out onto society at large ? -Dept. of Pet Peeves

seanhunter 3y ago
Astronomers already have to do a huge number of tiny corrections of one kind or another, both manually and in software - they would be fine with making changes. However in this case they wouldn't even need to make any change - the astronomic time is what it is. This negative leap second is to fix UTC to match astronomic time because the rotation of the earth has changed a tiny smidge.
ThrowawayTestr 3y ago
The universe has no concern for our desire for consistent calendars. You know that a day isn't exactly 24 hours right?
gpvos 3y ago
Astronomers aren't using software to determine the length of the day, but telescopes. (Well, they are using software too, but that isn't the problem.) The artificial second we use for our clocks because that's easier for some of our other sciences and technologies does not set the standard for what a day is. So something has to give, and the astronomers were there first, and for good reason, because their definition conforms to what humans actually think of what a day is. It is the computer makers that have made substandard software and push its cost onto society.
Footnote7341 3y ago
The Egyptian calendar didn't have leap days, so the 0.25 days per year difference had their calendar rotate completely through the seasons multiple times. A leap second is small now just like a leap 6 hours is. But it adds up.
euroderf 3y ago
I appreciate these thoughtful answers but... color me still unconvinced. Ten, twenty, even thirty seconds don't amount to a hill of beans. But, now we have the software "fixes" in place, so it's a done deal.

seanhunter 3y ago

Astronomers already have to do a huge number of tiny corrections of one kind or another, both manually and in software - they would be fine with making changes. However in this case they wouldn't even need to make any change - the astronomic time is what it is. This negative leap second is to fix UTC to match astronomic time because the rotation of the earth has changed a tiny smidge.

ThrowawayTestr 3y ago

The universe has no concern for our desire for consistent calendars. You know that a day isn't exactly 24 hours right?

gpvos 3y ago

Astronomers aren't using software to determine the length of the day, but telescopes. (Well, they are using software too, but that isn't the problem.) The artificial second we use for our clocks because that's easier for some of our other sciences and technologies does not set the standard for what a day is. So something has to give, and the astronomers were there first, and for good reason, because their definition conforms to what humans actually think of what a day is. It is the computer makers that have made substandard software and push its cost onto society.

Footnote7341 3y ago

The Egyptian calendar didn't have leap days, so the 0.25 days per year difference had their calendar rotate completely through the seasons multiple times. A leap second is small now just like a leap 6 hours is. But it adds up.

euroderf 3y ago

I appreciate these thoughtful answers but... color me still unconvinced. Ten, twenty, even thirty seconds don't amount to a hill of beans. But, now we have the software "fixes" in place, so it's a done deal.