leap second

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Scientists Aren't Sure Why Earth Is Rotating Faster

It's a change from the past billion years or so

(Newser) - June 29 was the shortest day in about 60 years. You couldn’t possibly have noticed, but scientists at the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service certainly did. Per IFL Science, the Earth completed its daily rotation that day in exactly 1.59 milliseconds under than 24 hours. That’...

How to Handle This Year's Extra Second: 'Smear' It

Google plans to do just that with the 2016 leap second

(Newser) - For many, 2016 can't end soon enough. For everyone, though, it's actually going to last one second longer than usual. With New Year's Eve approaching, outlets such as Phys.org are reminding people that an extra "leap second" will be added to the final day of...

We're Getting an Extra Second on New Year's Eve

Leap second to be added to world's official clocks

(Newser) - New Year's Eve will be just a little bit longer this year. The world's official clocks will have a "leap second" added to them on Dec. 31 at 23:59:59 Coordinated Universal Time (6:59:59pm Eastern time), Space.com reports. Leap seconds are periodically added...

Today Will Be the Longest Day Since 2012

'Leap second' could cause computer glitches

(Newser) - Today is going to be one of the longest days of your life, according to international timekeepers who have added a " leap second " to the end of the day. To account for the gradual slowing down of the Earth's rotation, today will have 86,401 seconds instead...

Look Out, Internet: We Gain a 'Leap Second' This Year

Last time, it messed up scores of websites

(Newser) - The powers that be in the world of time management have decreed that the world needs to gain an extra second this year. More precisely, the folks at the International Earth Rotation Service in Paris have decided to add one second to June 30, 2015, to sync our atomic clocks...

'Leap Second' Brings Down Chunk of Web

Reddit, Gawker, FourSquare, and others go down

(Newser) - Who knew such a miniscule amount of time could have such a major effect? When we got an extra "leap second" Saturday—international timekeepers held atomic clocks back by one second to sync up with the Earth's rotation—it brought down a number of very high-profile websites, Wired...

You Get an Extra Second Tonight

It's time to add a 'leap second,' so don't waste it

(Newser) - Good news for people who didn't get enough sleep this week. Tonight you'll have an extra second to snooze. That's because a "leap second" will be added to the ultra-precise atomic clocks kept by international timekeepers. The Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service is tasked with...

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