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Re: no leap second coming in December
From: George Huxtable
Date: 2004 Jul 27, 09:52 +0100
From: George Huxtable
Date: 2004 Jul 27, 09:52 +0100
On 24 July Paul Hirose wrote- >A few days ago the IERS announced there would be no leap second at the >end of this year. We will have a record-setting run of six >consecutive years with no leap second. The previous longest break was >1986 and 1987. > >At present UT1 is .46 second behind UTC. The offset is predicted to be >.49 second at the end of the year, and .52 second in mid-2005. Does this imply, then, that delta-T, the difference between universal time and ephemeris time, has remained "stuck" at a constant, or nearly-constant value, over that period of six years? If so, what vaue has it stuck at? And if so, does anyone understand the geophysical causes that have resulted in the slowing of the Earth's rotation, which has been so consistent over the last 80 years or so, to suddenly switch off, 6 years ago? Or have I misunderstood something completely? George. ================================================================ contact George Huxtable by email at george@huxtable.u-net.com, by phone at 01865 820222 (from outside UK, +44 1865 820222), or by mail at 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK. ================================================================