International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service is the body responsible for maintaining global time and reference frame standards, notably through its Earth Orientation Parameter (EOP) and International Celestial Reference System (ICRS) groups.
Among its other functions, the IERS is responsible for announcing leap seconds.
The organization was formerly known as International Earth Rotation Service until April 2, 2002 when it formally changed its name. The organisation chose to retain the acronym IERS.
The Sub-bureau for Rapid Service and Predictions of Earth Orientation Parameters of the IERS, located at the United States Naval Observatory, monitors the Earth's rotation. Part of its mission involves the determination of a time scale based on the current rate of the rotation of the Earth. UT1 is the non-uniform time based on the Earth's rotation.
[edit] See also
- International Atomic Time
- Coordinated Universal Time
- International Terrestrial Reference System
- International Celestial Reference System
- International Celestial Reference Frame
- Earth rotation, ΔT
