The Case of the Missing Day
Or the reason why we celebrate Leap Years.
A day filled with love, luck, and superstition, Leap Year is a day celebrated by many but understood by few. Today I will be discussing the truth behind Leap Years, including their importance and origin.
Simply put, our Earth is spinning too slowly!
The number of days per year is equal (or not so equal) to how long it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun.
While we celebrate a year with 365 days, it takes us approximately 365.25 days to complete our rotation.
The Earth’s rotation around the Sun is what cycles the weather in the patterns that we refer to as seasons. While different countries celebrate different seasons, the pattern’s are all associated with our rotation.
To stay consistent with our estimates of these season’s we created a leap year. Every four years we add a day to make up for the three-quarters of a day we have undergone the past three years. This keeps us on track and allows us to experience (roughly) the same weather and temperatures around the same times every year.
This tradition was first proposed by Julius Ceasar, a statesman and dictator who wanted a more uniform calendar. Before this enactment, a 27-28 day month would be added or ignored every other year, essentially acting as a leap month instead of a leap day.
To create more uniformity, they added ten more days to the calendar including the leap day every four years to remain on track. Their math, however, was slightly off, based on when they enacted this calendar, but was eventually fixed in 1582 when the Gregorian Calendar replaced it.
But why February? You may have already put two and two together, but the “bonus month” was right around the time of year when we now have February. Therefore, it’s fitting to add the leap day to this same spot.
This new calendar, the one utilized today by most countries, including the US, still has its inaccuracies regarding our synchronization to an accurate solar year, but it is closer than before.
One issue with this calendar is the shocking news that the Earth’s orbit is slowing down. Likely due to the gravitational pull of the moon, the Earth’s orbit, and in connection, the time it takes to rotate around the Sun is growing longer.
What do you think? If the Earth’s rotation is slowing down, should we correct our calendar to match a more accurate cycle?
Let me know what you think in the comment!
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