[LEAPSECS] Violins and sunspots

[Rob Seaman]

> <http://www.gpsworld.com/gnss-system/cgsic-%E2%80%93-the-rest-better-late-never-8956 

> >

>

> -- Richard Langley


Thanks!  Very interesting.  I especially like the connection drawn  
between sunspots and Stradivarius :-)

Beard's quote that the  “astronomical community, at large, has moved  
[away from UTC] to dynamic relativistic time scales based on TT(1980)"  
is rather misleading.  First, astronomers "at large" continue to use  
UTC widely for almost every conceivable purpose - it is precisely that  
UTC remains a flavor of Universal Time that permits this.  Second,  
astronomers have always been at the forefront of defining and using  
new timescales - we're not naively looking for a single standard, but  
value each timescale as with the bouquet of a fine wine.  Third, there  
will always be a role for UT in steering and scheduling Earth-based  
telescopes - the role is simply evolving in response to new IAU  
standards.  And fourth, this gives the impression that astronomers are  
lonely luddites.  Rather, UTC planning should focus on the  
requirements (whatever they are) for aligning civil timekeeping with  
mean solar time, and the range of possible mechanisms for satisfying  
those requirements.

I wonder whether it really took them the entire 10 years to realize  
that WP7A failing to act was the same as WP7A recommending the  
elimination of leap seconds.

Rob Seaman
NOAO