Forwarded from the International
Sundial List, that I am also on...
The
announcement for a AAS splinter meeting on the leap second /
UTC issue is appended. We welcome the participation of
members of the sundial community who will be attending the
American Astronomical Society meeting or those who may be
located near Washington, DC. AAS registration is not required
to participate. Please forward the announcement to anybody
you think might be interested in the future of solar time.
Rob
Seaman
NOAO
--
Dear
Colleague,
This is an
announcement of a splinter meeting to be held at the upcoming
223rd Meeting of the American Astronomical Society at the
Gaylord National Resort near Washington, DC:
The Future of Time
Sunday, 5 January
2014
1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
National Harbor 6
(note room change)
Time is a very
broad subject and contacts are being made among distant corners
of the AAS community, including history and E/PO, observatory
operations, software and systems, and in various fields of
research.
The topic is a
proposal being vigorously pursued within the International
Telecommunication Union, an agency of the United Nations, that
would redefine Coordinated Universal TIme (the time on your
alarm clock, wristwatch, computer and smartphone) to no longer
be tied to the rotation of the Earth.
We will
discuss the historical context for this unprecedented proposal,
as well as its significant implications for the practice of
astronomy. More details are on the web page (w/ links to
preprints from two previous meetings in 2011 and 2013):
http://www.cacr.caltech.edu/futureofutc/aas223/
To maximize
flexibility for attendees, the Future of Time agenda is split
into two 2 hour sessions (below). Your participation will be
welcome at either or both sessions.
Rob Seaman,
NOAO
Ken
Seidelmann, U. Virginia
Arnold Rots,
SAO
Alison Peck,
NRAO
--
Session 1 -
The Future of Time I historical context (1:00 pm)
Introduction
A (brief)
history of time in astronomy (K. Seidelmann, UVA)
Time scales
and concepts (A. Rots, SAO)
Time and
Navigation: The Untold Story of Getting From Here to There (A.
Johnston, NASM)
Time and the
Earth: Long term trends (for F. R. Stephenson, Durham
University)
Session 2 -
The Future of Time II operational timekeeping issues (3:00 pm)
The Name of
Time: terminology requirements for UTC (Kara Warburton, Chair,
ISO TC 37)
Performing a
UTC software inventory (R. Seaman, NOAO)
Software and
astronomical system engineering for time (TBA)
Network time
and infrastructure (Harlan Stenn, Network Time Foundation)
Discussion:
Operational implications for observatories (A. Peck, ALMA)