What The Universe Is Saying About Leap Second


We’re always saying how we want more time in the day, and tonight, the universe will give us one of the longest hours of our lives. For the first time in three years, we will be experiencing a leap second, making it the longest day of the year as we transition from June to July.

The leap second means that there will be 61 seconds in the very last minute of June. That doesn’t mean that we will add any more time to our physical clocks. In fact, for that one second, time will be stopped as scientists pause all of atomic clocks in the world, just for a second.

The leap second is much like the leap year in that it makes up for the time we’ve been ignoring for the last couple of years, giving the Earth time to catch up. This is the fourth time that this phenomenon has happened in 15 years, and it’s been around as long as 1972.

The Universe has blown up with the news of the clock stopping, even though it will be brief. The leap second is directly affecting the Universe according to NASA. They claim that the Earth’s rotation is slowing gradually, which is the reason that we have to add the occasional second to let it catch up.

Twitter seems to be paying a lot of attention to this phenomenon as well. Here are just a few things that people have said regarding the miraculous second.

In the UK, the leap second has already happened:

“I felt nothing.” -@jtotheizzoe

“Tonight’s #LeapSecond means there will be an extra second added to the clock at midnight UTC! Our livetweet starts in 5 minutes”#DoctorWho – Doctor Who on BBCA, @DoctorWho_BBCA

(5 minutes later)…”That concludes our livetweet of tonight’s #LeapSecond, very thrilling. Super timey wimey.” #DoctorWho – Doctor Who on BBCA, @DoctorWho_BBCA

Those in the United States who haven’t experienced the leap year yet are still sharing what they plan to do with the extra time:

“Panic about the inevitability of death and slowly fall into an existential crisis #LeapSecond – @Najoray

“@FunnyTunney will spend it #Laughing! – @Funny Tunney

“Blink” – @tobiassmann

“#LeapSecond for the win. If timed right, you can shovel in an extra 3.42 spoonfuls.” – CinnamonToastCrunch, @CTC Squares

“Heads up: the #leapsecond is occurring tonight. Be sure to stockpile food and ammo for the inevitable apocalypse.” – @packetlife

“Hoping the #leapsecond doesn’t cause a chain reaction that could unravel the very fabric of the space-time continuum!” -@LEGODimensions

Usher sent out a tweet for a good cause, urging others to march with him in support of girls and women:

“Today’s #LeapSecond may be short, but it can also be powerful. #OneSecondMarch march.globalcitizen.org/usher – @Usher

Now that you know how the Universe is reacting to the leap second, how will you use yours?

[Image via Spie.org]

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