Is this a leap year?
"During non-leap years aka common years – like 2018 – the calendar doesn’t take into account the extra quarter of a day actually required by Earth to complete a single orbit around the sun.
In essence, the calendar year, which is a human artifact, is faster than the actual solar year, or year as defined by our planet’s motion through space.
In essence, the calendar year, which is a human artifact, is faster than the actual solar year, or year as defined by our planet’s motion through space.
Over time and without correction, the calendar year would drift away from the solar year and the drift would add up quickly. . . You can see that, if even more time were to pass without the leap year as a calendar correction, eventually February would be a summer month in the Northern Hemisphere.
During leap years, a leap day is added to the calendar to slow down and synchronize the calendar year with the seasons."
Christopher Clavius (1538 - 1612). |
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