[LEAPSECS] a modest proposal

[Rob Seaman]

Poul-Henning Kamp wrote:


> I think we have been over this ground before.


Well, knock me over with a feather!


> It obviously follows, that with leap second granularity of 1 SI  

> second, you need to keep track of the residual also, so your  

> telescope already uses (UTC + DUT1), effectively UT1, for pointing,  

> right ?



No.  Some applications are DUT1 aware.  Many are not, precisely  
because DUT1 is required to be small.  The former will be subject to  
Y2K-like failures.  The latter will require more drastic rewriting of  
algorithms.  This will clearly be a much larger expense to astronomy  
than Y2K.  Moving on...


>> Which is it?  Either the cessation of leap seconds is a complex  

>> question that demands a well thought out plan - or the cessation of  

>> leap seconds is a simple question for which a plan would be trivial  

>> to generate at the level of nuance required.  Either way, is it too  

>> much to expect that an actual plan be written?

>

> I would expect, that the plan may be written down on the back of a  

> napkin somewhere, having the following substance:

>

> 	1. Ratify changed document.

>

> 	2. Announce changed document.

>

> 	3. Mail copy to BIPM.

>

> 	4. Case closed -- not our problem any more.

>

> That is a large part of the attractiveness of just dropping leap- 

> seconds.



A monk asked Chao-chou, "Has the cow Buddha nature or not?" Chao-chou  
said, "Mu."

- Rob