Coordinated Universal Time

Leap seconds don't make any difference to the lives of the people, they can cause problems for a range of systems that require an exact time.

NASA missions, including the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) which watches the Sun, will join timekeepers around the world to add a leap second to its clocks, just before midnight on New Year's Eve.

On December 31 this year, a "leap second" will be added to the world's clocks at 23 hours, 59 minutes 59 seconds Coordinated Universal Time, the US Naval Observatory has announced.

People born on June 30 will be able to celebrate their birthday for one second longer this time. Due to the Earth's rotation, the month will last one second more than a normal day.

To avoid solar time and TAI moving too far apart, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is adjusted to give us the odd 86,401 second day.

Leap seconds don't make any difference to the lives of the people, they can cause problems for a range of systems that require an exact time.

NASA missions, including the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) which watches the Sun, will join timekeepers around the world to add a leap second to its clocks, just before midnight on New Year's Eve.

On December 31 this year, a "leap second" will be added to the world's clocks at 23 hours, 59 minutes 59 seconds Coordinated Universal Time, the US Naval Observatory has announced.

People born on June 30 will be able to celebrate their birthday for one second longer this time. Due to the Earth's rotation, the month will last one second more than a normal day.

To avoid solar time and TAI moving too far apart, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is adjusted to give us the odd 86,401 second day.