Thanks to science, your weekend will be one second longer (+video)

You can also listen for the leap second by tuning in to a shortwave time signal station. In North America, the "extra tick" can be heard by listening to either station WWV in Fort Collins, Colo., at 2.5, 5, 10, 15 and 20 megahertz; WWVH in Kekaha, Hawaii, at 2.5, 5, 10 and 15 megahertz; or CHU in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, at 3330, 7850, and 14670 kilohertz. A listing of shortwave time signal stations for other parts of the world can be found at http://www.dxinfocentre.com/time.htm.

Should you encounter poor reception, try preparing a seconds pendulum by hanging a small weight on a string about 39.1 inches (99.3 centimeters) long. Adjust the string length beforehand until the swings exactly match the time signal ticks.  If the beeps denoting the start of each minute occur at the left extreme of a swing before the final (UTC) minute of June, they will be heard at the right extremes thereafter. (Although the swing amplitude will be steadily dying down, this does not affect a free pendulum's oscillation period.)

Not the year's midpoint

Saturday will be the 25th time a leap second has been needed since the practice was initiated in 1972, and will be the first in 3½ years. The most recent leap second was inserted into the atomic time scale on New Year's Eve of 2008.

Incidentally, July 1 is not the midpoint of 2012. That will take place July 2 at 0 hours UTC if you count the year as beginning when it did at Greenwich, England  – or at 1 a.m. Daylight Saving Time, if you count the year as beginning when your clock said midnight in the standard time of your time zone, .

Regardless of how you use your extra second, just keep this one indisputable fact in mind: Whenever you note the time on the clock, realize that it is now – right now – later than it has ever been.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York.

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• The History & Structure of the Universe (Infographic)
• Everything You Need to Know About Daylight Saving Time

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