Re: [LEAPSECS] Longer leap second notice

From: Tom Van Baak <tvb_at_LEAPSECOND.COM>
Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2006 13:00:03 -0800

> > A more apt comparison would be to the leap year rules that we
> > have. We know the rules going
> > forward a thousand years or so.
>
> Apt indeed. Leap seconds are scheduled at least six months in
> advance. That's about one part in 15 million. A thousand year
> horizon for scheduling leap days is one part in 365,250. So we're
> already doing 50 times better than Julius Caesar and Gregory XIII.

I'm glad someone else came to this conclusion too.
But be careful, though, that this line of thought isn't
used to justify leap hours over leap seconds. One
leap hour predicted for a fixed date of, say, the year
2600 is about one part in 5 million; still 15x better
than the Gregorian calendar.

/tvb
Received on Wed Jan 04 2006 - 13:03:33 PST