Leap Second

Twenty-six times since 1972, the world's timekeepers have added a leap second to the clock to make up for time lost to Earth's slowing rotation. The adjustment is necessary because Earth's rotation is not regular. It sometimes speeds up, sometimes slows down, but is gradually slowing overall.


It will happen again tomorrow. That's right, we get one more second of 2016 added to our lives. The final minute of 2016 will have 61 seconds. After all of the political nonsense during these past twelve months, it is almost like adding insult to injury to have a leap day and a leap second in the same year. Oh well, savor the extra second of life. We can never get too many of them.

Set Your Clocks Back

Tuesday June 30 is the day to adjust your clocks back by one second. At 2359 Greenwich Mean Time on June 30, or 9.59am US EST on July 1, the world will experience a minute that will last 61 seconds. It is called the leap second. That is when timekeepers adjust high-precision clocks so they are in sync with earth’s rotation, which is affected by the gravitational tug of the sun and moon.

The last modification, on June 30, 2012 was disruptive for many internet servers, including Qantas’ online reservation system, which went down for several hours. The leap second is not something that needs to be added to your watch, your stove, the clock on your nightstand, etc.