Bully Metric Timestamps

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Bully Metric Timestamps Main Page
Current Bully Timestamp (GitHub)

In the Bully Timestamp System, time is measured using 12-digit hexadecimal "Bully timestamps," with a new timestamp realized every 3,055 SI seconds (TAI). With 12 hexadecimal digits, the system has a enough unique identifiers to span the entire history of the universe—from the Big Bang into the far-distant future. The total capacity of the system is:

16^{12}\times 3,055{\text{ sec}}\approx 27.25{\text{ billion years}}

Figure 1: History of the Universe with a few example Bully timestamps shown in red.

Bully Timestamp Realization

Each Bully timestamp is realized exactly 3055 seconds TAI after the previous one. However, since atomic clocks did not exist prior to the 1950's, any assignment of Bully timestamps prior to 1958 should be viewed as an estimate of how time might have transpired in the past, rather than an actual realization of Bully time. Similarly, any assignment of future timestamps should be viewed as an estimate of what may occur, rather than a realization. Bully timestamps should only be considered "realized" when time is measured with an accuracy of ${10}^{-10}$ . There have been over 700,000 realized Bully timestamps during the era of modern atomic time keeping (1958 AD ... present).

Learn More About Realized Bully Timestamps

Time Estimation Divisions

For the purpose of time estimation, the Bully system's time range is divided into three distinct sets:

First Set

0000 0000 0000 — 1FFF FFFF FFFF: Used to estimate time during the universe's formative period (Figure 1), spanning roughly 3 billion years beginning with the Big Bang. The following list highlights key events from selected timestamps during this formative era:

First timestamp: 0000 0000 0000
Approximately: 0000 EA00 0000
- Decoupling
- Recombination
Approximately: 0100 0000 0000
- First Star Formation
Approximately: 0297 0000 0000
- Oldest Observed Galaxy

Second Set

2000 0000 0000 — 8209 2800 0000: Used to estimate cosmic look-back time (Figure 2), spanning from approximately 10.4 billion years ago to exactly 12:00:00 TAI on June 21, 1998. Key milestones from the presolar through geological eras include:

Approximately: 3B00 0000 0000
- Oldest Presolar Grains
Approximately: 5720 9000 0000
- Hadean Eon Begins
Approximately: 5C2A 0000 0000
- Archean Eon Begins
Approximately: 6A8C 0000 0000
- Proterozoic Eon Begins
Approximately: 7D56 0000 0000
- Phanerozoic Eon Begins

Third Set

8209 2800 0000 — FFFF FFFF FFFF: Used to estimate future events. This set begins at precisely 12:00:00 TAI on June 21, 1998, and progresses forward for approximately 13.4 billion years.

Approximately: B000 0000 0000
- Death of Sun (main-sequence)

Time Estimation Using Cosmic Redshift

In physics, a redshift is an increase in wavelength (or a decrease in frequency) of electromagnetic radiation. Cosmological redshifts are driven directly by the expansion of the universe. The redshift value is denoted by $z$ , where the ratio of observed to emitted wavelength is $1 + z$ .

If the original wavelength of a radiation source is known, its cosmological redshift can reveal the light travel time. However, mapping redshift precisely to elapsed time requires an exact cosmological model. Ongoing measurement tension surrounding the Hubble constant introduces uncertainty into calculations of the exact age of the universe and distant stars.

This cosmological uncertainty directly affects the accuracy of assigning Bully timestamps. The table in Figure 3 contrasts two estimation tracks based on competing cosmological datasets. One column applies the local distance ladder framework from the SH0ES Team (corresponding to a younger universe estimate of 12.7 Gyr). The other utilizes cosmic microwave background data from the Planck Collaboration (yielding an older universe estimate of approximately 13.8 Gyr). Larger z values correspond with the more distant past.

Figure 3: Bully Timestamps for Selected Redshift Values Given Different Universe Age Estimates
Redshift z (z = ∞ to 2)	SHOES Team (12.7 Gyr)	Planck Collaboration (13.8 Gyr)
z = ∞	0000 0000 0000	0000 0000 0000
z = 18.0	01CC 0000 0000	01F4 0000 0000
z = 15.0	0253 0000 0000	0287 0000 0000
z = 12.0	032D 0000 0000	0374 0000 0000
z = 9.0	04B5 0000 0000	051E 0000 0000
z = 6.0	0809 0000 0000	08BB 0000 0000
z = 3.0	1285 0000 0000	1420 0000 0000
z = 2.0	1C4D 0000 0000	1EC2 0000 0000

The forward-progressing timestamps 0000 0000 0000 through 1FFF FFFF FFFF are illustrated in Figure 4 (bottom of figure). By convention, these timestamps are assumed to begin at the Big Bang and progress forward for approximately three billion years.

Figure 4: Age of the Universe plot showing Bully timestamps mapped to cosmic redshift.

Timestamps 2000 0000 0000 through 8200 0000 0000 (top of Figure 4) measure "lookback" time anchored at timestamp 8209 2800 0000. Because the total age of the universe is unfixed, the precise mathematical relationship between universal age and lookback time remains indefinite. Two different possible universe ages are shown with the Planck Collaboration shown in red and the SH0ES Team shown in blue.

The data illustrated in Figure 5 is the same as is shown in Figure 4, but Figure 5 plots against lookback time on the x-axis, so in this plot the universe age is unfixed with the Planck Collaboration shown in red and the SH0ES Team shown in blue.

Figure 5: A cosmic lookback plot showing Bully timestamps mapped to cosmic redshift.

The table in Figure 6 is similar to the table in Figure 3, in that it contrasts two estimation tracks based on competing cosmological datasets. However, whereas the data in Figure 3 was for large z values, Figure 6 shows small z values. Smaller z values correspond with the recent past.

Figure 6: Redshift Values for Selected Bully Timestamps Given Different Universe Age Estimates
Bully Timestamp (z = 1 to 0)	SHOES Team (12.7 Gyr)	Planck Collaboration (13.8 Gyr)
4000 0000 0000	z = 0.925134	z = 0.796535
6000 0000 0000	z = 0.342787	z = 0.308619
8000 0000 0000	z = 0.016418	z = 0.015093
8209 2800 0000	z ≈ 0.000000	z ≈ 0.000000

Time Estimation Relativistic and Cosmological Considerations

What does it mean when cosmologists state that the universe is approximately 13.8 billion years old? According to Einstein's theories of special and general relativity, time passes differently for each observer depending on their path through spacetime and the gravitational forces in their vicinity. How, then, can the universe have a single age? Shouldn't its age depend entirely on the observer's frame of reference?

The "age of the universe" cited by cosmologists is actually its maximum possible age. Among all paths an observer could take through spacetime, one specific trajectory maximizes elapsed time. This privileged frame of reference belongs to an observer who remains at rest relative to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and resides in a region of space with negligible matter. We will refer to this as the "CMB rest frame."

Importantly, Bully timestamps are divided into three distinct sets, with only the first set (0000 0000 0000 — 1FFF FFFF FFFF) utilizing the CMB rest frame. Timestamps in the third set (8209 2800 0000 — FFFF FFFF FFFF) are realized using atomic clocks at sea level on Earth. Due to relativistic time dilation, these terrestrial clocks run slower than identically constructed clocks placed at rest in empty space. All "realized" Bully timestamps from 1958 to the present conform to Earth's sea-level frame of reference.

Furthermore, the "estimated" Bully timestamps in the second set (2000 0000 0000 — 8209 2800 0000) are typically derived from the radioactive decay of samples found on or within the Earth; thus, these samples decay at a rate comparable to Earth's sea-level frame. The oldest timestamps in this second set come from presolar grains, which formed in different star systems prior to the emergence of our solar system. Because some of these samples may have traveled through space in frames of reference drastically different from Earth's current sea-level frame, the accuracy of these cosmic estimates is inherently limited.

Learn More About Relativistic and Cosmological Considerations

The Galactic Calendar

A galactic year, also known as a cosmic year, is the duration of time required for the Sun (or any other star) to orbit once around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy (see Figure 7).

The duration of the galactic year is not a fixed constant, but rather, it depends on the path that a particular star follows as it orbits. Stars closer to the center will orbit much quicker than those on the outer edges.

Within the context of Bully timestamps, the "Bully" galactic year is defined to have a duration of exactly 2⁴¹ Bully timestamps (approximately 213 million years).

With this definition in mind, it is easy to convert between Bully timestamps and Bully Galactic years. The Hadean Eon, for example, began during approximate timestamp 5720 9000 0000 and ended with 5C2A 0000 0000. Thus the Hadean Eon lasted 2.5 Galactic years.

5600 0000 0000 — 57FF FFFF FFFF
- Bully Galactic Year 43
5800 0000 0000 — 59FF FFFF FFFF
- Bully Galactic Year 44
5A00 0000 0000 — 5BFF FFFF FFFF
- Bully Galactic Year 45
5C00 0000 0000 — 5DFF FFFF FFFF
- Bully Galactic Year 46

Bully Galactic year 65

As shown in Figure 8, Bully Galactic Year 65 began 3.8 million years ago during Bully timestamp 8200 0000 0000. At that time, Sagittarius A* would have appeared to sit at the intersection of the Ecliptic and Galactic Plane. Galactic Year 65 will end 119 million years in the future during Bully timestamp 8300 0000 0000.

Galactic Weeks

A galactic week can be thought of as the approximate duration of time required for the Sun to orbit 6.9 degrees around the galactic center (approximately 4.1 million years), so that 52 galactic weeks is equivalent to one galactic year.

The following table (see Figure 9) illustrates the division of one galactic year's worth of Bully timestamps into 52 equal portions. Galactic year "65" begins with Bully timestamp 8200 0000 0000 and ends with timestamp 83FF FFFF FFFF.

Figure 9: Bully Galactic Year 65
Galactic Year 65	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter
Week 0	8200 0000 0000	8280 0000 0000	8300 0000 0000	8380 0000 0000
Week 1	8209 D89D 89D8	8289 D89D 89D8	8309 D89D 89D8	8389 D89D 89D8
Week 2	8213 B13B 13B1	8293 B13B 13B1	8313 B13B 13B1	8393 B13B 13B1
Week 3	821D 89D8 9D89	829D 89D8 9D89	831D 89D8 9D89	839D 89D8 9D89
Week 4	8227 6276 2762	82A7 6276 2762	8327 6276 2762	83A7 6276 2762
Week 5	8231 3B13 B13B	82B1 3B13 B13B	8331 3B13 B13B	83B1 3B13 B13B
Week 6	823B 13B1 3B13	82BB 13B1 3B13	833B 13B1 3B13	83BB 13B1 3B13
Week 7	8244 EC4E C4EC	82C4 EC4E C4EC	8344 EC4E C4EC	83C4 EC4E C4EC
Week 8	824E C4EC 4EC4	82CE C4EC 4EC4	834E C4EC 4EC4	83CE C4EC 4EC4
Week 9	8258 9D89 D89D	82D8 9D89 D89D	8358 9D89 D89D	83D8 9D89 D89D
Week 10	8262 7627 6276	82E2 7627 6276	8362 7627 6276	83E2 7627 6276
Week 11	826C 4EC4 EC4E	82EC 4EC4 EC4E	836C 4EC4 EC4E	83EC 4EC4 EC4E
Week 12	8276 2762 7627	82F6 2762 7627	8376 2762 7627	83F6 2762 7627

Learn More About Galactic Years and The Bully Metric Coordinate System

The Metonic Cycle

The Metonic cycle is a period of approximately 19 solar years, after which the moon's phases recur on the same days of the year. For example, a New Moon occurred on July 23 in 1998, and nineteen years later, in 2017, a New Moon again occurred on July 23. The last four hex digits of the Bully timestamp cycle approximately three times per Metonic cycle as illustrated in the following list:

July 23 New Moon Metonic Cycles

July 23, 1998 on 8209 2800 038B
July 23, 2017 on 8209 2803 0238
July 23, 2036 on 8209 2806 00EA
July 23, 2055 on 8209 2808 FF9B
July 23, 2074 on 8209 280B FE45
July 23, 2093 on 8209 280E FCE6

Learn More About the Metonic Cycle in Bully Timestamps

Contextualized vs. Decontextualized Time

Local clocks and calendars reflect contextualized time, which uses region-specific offsets from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to align with physical reality. This time is "contextual" because it provides an intuitive sense of conditions at some specific geographic location; for instance, a traveler arriving in London at 4:00 a.m. can instinctively expect darkness and quiet streets. To maintain this alignment with Earth's natural cycles, UTC requires periodic "leaps" (seconds and years). In Figure 10, the light blue line represents Earth's irregular rotation (UT1), while the dark blue line shows UTC, which is manually adjusted with leap seconds to track UT1.

In contrast, standards such as International Atomic Time (TAI), Terrestrial Time (TT), and GPS time are decontextualized. They are independent of Earth's rotation, meaning they do not correspond to "true time" at any specific geographical location. Represented by the black lines in Figure 10, these standards track a continuous, uniform interval measured by atomic clocks. This uninterrupted linearity is vital for scientific and technical systems, where the discontinuities introduced by leap seconds could lead to critical errors or system failures.

The various decontextualized standards currently in use are effectively "frozen" in the astronomical conditions present at the time of their deployment. Because long-term changes in Earth's motion are unpredictable, each system launched with a different initial offset. For example, when GPS was launched in 1980, the Delta T adjustment (TT-UTC) exceeded 51 seconds. In contrast, the 1972 LORAN-C upgrade began with an adjustment closer to 42 seconds. This historical discrepancy results in a permanent nine-second offset between GPS and LORAN-C. Similarly, LORAN-C remains offset from TAI (deployed in 1958) by exactly ten seconds.

The Bully timestamp system, shown on the far-right axis of Figure 10, follows the same uniform, decontextualized logic as TAI and TT but avoids this "legacy offset" confusion. Unlike existing standards, Bully timestamps are not linked to others by a constant, arbitrary time offset. This independence ensures they are uniquely recognizable and impossible to misinterpret.

Learn More About Contextualized vs Decontextualized time

Why do we need Bully timestamps?

All the timestamps in Figure 11 refer to one single, simultaneous moment in time. The left frame illustrates the fragmentation of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) through time zones. For instance, on June 21, 1998, a UTC time of 11:59:29 a.m. in Accra, Ghana, was simultaneously 8:59:29 p.m. in Tokyo. These time zone offsets are not based on science, but on political mandates that have resulted in 38 distinct UTC offsets, including confusing half- and quarter-hour increments.

Figure 11: UTC Time Zones vs. Bully Timestamps.
Selected UTC Time Zones	Decontextualized timestamps
June 21, 1998 at 8:59:29 pm (JST) June 21, 1998 at 7:59:29 pm (CST) June 21, 1998 at 2:59:29 pm (EEST) June 21, 1998 at 12:59:29 pm (IST) June 21, 1998 at 11:59:29 am (GMT) June 21, 1998 at 8:59:29 am (BRT) June 21, 1998 at 4:59:29 am (PDT) June 21, 1998 at 1:59:29 am (HST)	06/21/1998 12:00:32.184 (TT) 06/21/1998 12:00:00 (TAI) 06/21/1998 11:59:42 (GPS)
	Bully Timestamp
	8209 2800 0000 (+ 0.000 sec)

Legacy Decontextualized Timestamps

The decontextualized timestamps (TAI, TT, GPS) in the upper-right frame of Figure 11 attempt to solve the UTC geographic fragmentation problem, yet they remain "cluttered" by Gregorian formatting. Applying a Gregorian date—which is built to track the Sun—to an atomic standard is a category error. Seeing three different timestamps share the same date while differing by several "leap" seconds is intellectually disorienting because the date has been stripped of its astronomical meaning. In these technical contexts, the Gregorian format is an artificial mask applied for convenience, hiding the true linear nature of time.

For scientific and technical applications, TAI and TT are often expressed via Modified Julian Date (MJD)—a continuous count of SI days since a fixed epoch. While MJD avoids Gregorian irregularities, it remains "tethered" to the 86,400-second day, a unit that is astronomically meaningless when decontextualized. Similarly, GPS time relies on a week-based count (since January 6, 1980), forcing a technical system to conform to an arbitrary seven-day cycle. Both systems are cumbersome "hybrids" that attempt to measure linear time using units designed for Earth’s rotation.

Decontextualized Bully Timestamps

The Bully Timestamp, shown in the lower-right frame of Figure 11, breaks the Gregorian formatting tether. It is a single, unique identifier that applies simultaneously to all locations on Earth because it is never adjusted for geography or orbital drift. For example, Bully timestamp 8209 2800 0000 was realized at the exact moment the UTC based clock read 11:59:29 a.m. in Accra and 8:59:29 p.m. in Tokyo. By discarding the baggage of weeks, days, and hours, the Bully timestamp emerges as the least ambiguous format for representing universal, decontextualized time.

Click on the below links for a comparison of current time in six time standards (local, UTC, GPS, Loran, and TAI), all displayed using traditional Gregorian format:

LeapSecond.com

ipses.com

csgnetwork.com

The Foundations of Bully Metric

The Bully Timestamp System was derived from the orbital periods of major Solar System bodies. Specifically, the duration of Earth's sidereal year (~31,558,150 seconds) is roughly equal to $10,330\times 3,055$ SI seconds. This foundational constant—3,055 seconds—serves as the building block for the Bully timestamp system.

The name "Bully" is a dual-reference to the massive astronomical objects that define our local spacetime. In an archaic sense, "bully" means "beautiful" or "excellent," describing the celestial harmony of the cosmos. In the modern sense, it refers to the dominance and gravitational influence of "bullies" like Sagittarius A*, the Sun, and giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn. These massive bodies dictate the motion of everything around them, serving as the physical anchors for the Bully Metric system.

The Bully Mnemonic

${1\,Sidereal\,Year}={31,558,150\,Seconds}$

${1\,Tropical\,Year}={31,556,926\,Seconds}$

$1\,Great\,Year\approx 25,824\,Sidereal\,Years\approx 25,825\,Tropical\,Years$

${1\,Galactic\,Year}\approx 8264\,Great\,Year\approx 213,417,800\,Tropical\,Years$

The Bully Mnemonic is a technique for remembering the exact number of seconds that occur in Earth's sidereal year and tropical year, a good approximation of the Earth's Great Year, and a rough approximation of the Solar System's galactic year. Click on the following link to learn more about the Bully Mnemonic and the role it plays in the mathematical foundation of Bully timestamps.