What is a leap year?
By Dylan Rompf
This year’s extra day has raised a few questions from the old and young alike. Why must we add another day to an already tedious year? The answer is in the orbit of the Earth. It may surprise you to learn that that one revolution around the sun (which defines a year) is not actually 365 days, but rather 365.2425 days. It would be very difficult to observe a fourth of a day every year, so instead every four years a single day is added to the month of February to keep down confusion and maintain a steady calendar.
In other calendars the errors can be more confusing as the calendar becomes more accurate. For example, the Gregorian calendar is off by a mere 27 seconds a year, however this adds up to an entire day if left alone for 3236 years. The present generation wouldn’t know the difference, but generations down the line would begin to notice an earlier sunrise. Midday would slowly become midnight and back again, making a new meaning to Day and night. The effects are similar for the Julian calendar as well, although quicker. Off by eleven minutes, an extra day adds up in a meager 128 years. If you find this month’s extra day to be confusing just think of the perplexing issues we could be facing with a more accurate calendar year.
