What Is the Difference Between Astronomical Time and Atomic Time?

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Atomic clocks have enabled lots of new technology. Time is also used for many more applications so the synchronization of the internet is based on time. The only difference will be if you let atomic time and astronomical time vary by a few minutes then when you go to the somosolstice the sun won't be exactly above Stonehenge at 12 o'clock or something like that.

At a recent conference in France, scientists and government representatives voted to scrap the leap second by 2035. Leap seconds are added periodically to synchronise atomic time and astronomical time, which get out of sync because of variations in the Earth’s rotation. Madeleine Finlay speaks to JT Janssen, the chief scientist at NPL, the National Physical Laboratory, about the differences between these two times, and what can go wrong when leap seconds are added to our clocks. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod