On Wed 2006-01-11T09:01:07 -0500, Daniel R. Tobias hath writ: > If, however, this Martian second is actually defined as a particular > multiple of the SI second, then the use of leap seconds on Mars would > ultimately be necessary to account for any future changes in the > length of the Martian day.
The martian second in their case is defined purely for the sake of the local solar time of the solar powered rovers which are effectively stationary on the planet. Something akin to the long-used Newcomb expression for mean solar time is more than sufficient. In that respect the rovers are sundials. The mission clock on the lander has a more uniform time scale used for the sake of such things as the cool photos of the martian moons transiting the sun. Leap seconds for Mars seem irrelevant until there are VLBI antennae on Mars performing routine observations. The atomic clocks used by such VLBI antennae will not, however, keep synchronized with earth using anything less than a fully general relativistic expression for the intercomparisons. -- Steve Allen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> WGS-84 (GPS) UCO/Lick Observatory Natural Sciences II, Room 165 Lat +36.99858 University of California Voice: +1 831 459 3046 Lng -122.06014 Santa Cruz, CA 95064 http://www.ucolick.org/~sla/ Hgt +250 m
