UTC

Coordinated Universal Time

The standard time reference for many applications and systems, including navigation, communication, and financial systems, as well as for civil timekeeping and legal purposes. UTC is based on the International Atomic Time (TAI), which is a measure of the average time elapsed between two specific points in the orbits of Earth’s moon. UTC provides a uniform time scale that is used by many systems, including the GPS system, the Internet, and many other technologies that require accurate and consistent timekeeping. UTC is kept within 0.9 seconds of the TAI time scale, and its accuracy is maintained by the use of atomic clocks and other timekeeping technologies. UTC was first implemented in 1972 as a successor to TAI and GMT. It was designed to be a more precise and uniform standard for international timekeeping, as TAI and GMT were both subject to small variations due to the irregular rotation of the Earth.

• Abbreviation: UTC