Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 5, 1992                   TAG: 9203050009
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

BLINK AND YOU'LL MISS IT: '92 LONGER BY 1 SECOND

An extra second will be added to the world's clocks June 30, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory, which keeps the nation's official time.

The combination of a leap day and a leap second will make 1992 the longest year since 1972, when a leap day and two leap seconds were added.

This will be the 17th leap second added since 1972, when scientists decided to let their extremely accurate atomic clocks run independently of the rotation of the earth and then adjust them periodically.

The clocks, which use the vibration of specific atoms to measure time, vary less than the rotation of the earth. The earth's rotation has tended to slow down, requiring the addition of leap seconds to keep the clocks in time with it.

For the record, this year's leap second will be added June 30 at 7:59:59 p.m. EDT.