special meeting regarding time measurement in astronomy

[Robert J. Hanisch]

FYI… on behalf of Rob Seaman.

Dear Colleagues,

Redefinition of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) has been a topic of interest within study groups of the International Telecommunication Union* and some scientific organizations including the IAU and AAS.  A specific proposal now on the table for an ITU vote in 2015 would cease any future insertion of leap seconds into UTC, thus severing the relationship between UTC and the rotation of the Earth.  Within the American Astronomical Society, concerned discussion can be found in the AAS Newsletters from 2003 through 2012.  Even so, few astronomers are aware yet of this esoteric subject or appreciate its disproportionate significance to our community.

Several of us have organized a splinter meeting for AAS 223 with the goal of familiarizing representatives of diverse observatories, missions and institutions with the issues, impacts and strategies for mitigation:

The Future of Time in Astronomy
Sunday, 5 January 2014, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Chesapeake H (Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center)
http://futureofutc.org/AAS223/

The meeting is open to all.

P. Kenneth Seidelmann
Steve Allen
George Kaplan
Alison Peck
Arnold Rots
Rob Seaman

* a Specialized Agency of the United Nations

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.ivoa.net/pipermail/interop/attachments/20131007/33e73c48/attachment-0001.html>