Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 alpha 4/15/85; site ubvax.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!prls!amdimage!amdcad!cae780!ubvax!scott From: scott@ubvax.UUCP (Scott Scheiman) Newsgroups: net.space Subject: Re: Leap seconds Message-ID: <287@ubvax.UUCP> Date: Mon, 5-Aug-85 16:37:09 EDT Article-I.D.: ubvax.287 Posted: Mon Aug 5 16:37:09 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 10-Aug-85 20:35:43 EDT References: <2884@mordor.UUCP> Organization: Ungermann-Bass, Inc., Santa Clara, CA Lines: 23 In article <2884@mordor.UUCP>, @S1-A.ARPA,@MIT-MC.ARPA:FRIEDRITR%VAXJ.GATNET.MFENET@LLL-MFE.ARPA writes: > From: FRIEDRITR%VAXJ.GATNET.MFENET@LLL-MFE.ARPA > > Leap seconds are not to "even out the flaws in the Gregorian > calendar", especially since we have one only every few years (does anyone > know how often, on the average?). Leap seconds keep our precise 24-hour- > per-day clocks synchronized with the actual rotational period of the Earth, > which exhibits slight variations. > > Terry -- Quite a few years back they came only every few years, at midnight beginning a new year. Then a year came when they added a leap second at both ends of the year. This year we had a leap second added between June and July (I think). I don't know why it was added in the middle of the year this year, but my guess is that we now have to have more than one leap second added per year and adding two on Jan. 1 (Dec. 31?) would be more disruptive than "smoothing" it out by adding them at far ends of the year. -- "Ribbit!" Scott Scheiman (Beam Me Up, Scotty!) Industrial Networking, Inc. \ /\/@\/@\/\ ..decvax!decwrl!sun!megatest!ubvax!scott 3990 Freedom Circle _\ \ - / /_ (408) 496-0969 Santa Clara, CA 95050