Division A Commission 31: Time
Abstract
Time is an essential element of fundamental astronomy. In recent years there have been many time-related issues, in scientific and technological aspects as well as in conventions and definitions. At the Commission 31 (Time) business meeting at the XXIX General Assembly, recent progress and many topics, including Pulsar Time Scales WG and Future UTC WG activities, were reviewed and discussed. In this report, we will review the progress of these topics in the past three years. There are many remarkable topics, such as Time scales, Atomic clock development, Time transfer, Future UTC and future redefinition of the second. Among them, scientific highlights are the progress of pulsar time scales and the optical frequency standards. On the other hand, as the social convention, change in the definition of UTC and the second is important.
- Publication:
-
Transactions of the International Astronomical Union, Series A
- Pub Date:
- April 2016
- DOI:
- 10.1017/S1743921316000648
- Bibcode:
- 2016IAUTA..29...77H