Observatory to Add Leap Second

Week of December 22, 2008

The U.S. Naval Observatory's Master Clock Facility in Washington will add a "leap second" Dec. 31, 2008 in coordination with the world's atomic clocks at 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This corresponds to 6:59:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, when the extra second will be inserted. This marks the 24th leap second to be added to UTC, a uniform time-scale kept by atomic clocks around the world, since 1972. The U.S. Naval Observatory is responsible for the precise determination and dissemination of time for the Department of Defense and maintains its master clock. For more information on the U.S. Naval Observatory's master clock, visit the Navy's Time Service Department website and the USNO Clock Vault webpage.

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