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Earth Travel On Time, Again

Posted by timothy on from the funny-I-hadn't-noticed dept.

burgburgburg writes "The NY Times has an interesting article about a rather puzzling phenomena: for the fifth year in a row, the Earth's travel through space is right on time. The rate that the Earth travels through space has slowed ever so slightly for millenia. To compensate for this, since 1972, scientists have added a "leap second" at the end of each year. The problem: Since 1999, the Earth has been on time. The recognition of a need for a leap second was an unintended consequence of the invention of the atomic clock. Suggested reasons for the unexpected punctuality: the tides, weather and changes in the Earth's core."

6 of 361 comments (clear)

  1. It's Obvious by dreamchaser · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Earth knows that we're watching now, so it's taking extra care to be punctual...

    1. Re:It's Obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      But it knows where it's going, so that rules out it being a man. ;)

  2. All wrong... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Suggested reasons for the unexpected punctuality: the tides, weather and changes in the Earth's core.

    No. God just likes to screw with us.

  3. Next on Tom's Hardware - OC'ing the earth by xC0000005 · · Score: 5, Funny

    We decided that for a change this holiday we'd work on big iron - the earth. Using polar cap cooling and using two atoms instead of one in the atomic clock, we managed to accelerate the earth by 1 second. System is perfectly stable. Except in California. And Iran.

    --
    www.voiceofthehive.com - Beekeeping and Honeybees for those who don't.
    1. Re:Next on Tom's Hardware - OC'ing the earth by xC0000005 · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's running WindowsGE (geological edition). When you get a protection fault in the pacific, folks in Japan get the BWOD (blue wave of death). This was fixed in later revisions (code named Mars) Mars has no oceans, and hence no BWOD, but probe() calls tend to hang or crash on it.

      --
      www.voiceofthehive.com - Beekeeping and Honeybees for those who don't.
  4. Re:Physics for the rest of us by utahjazz · · Score: 5, Funny

    how on earth do they figure out that the earth is in the exact same position as it was a 'year' ago? Do they use the background of stars, or some other mechanism?

    Duh. They use GPS.