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02-23-2016, 10:32 PM
Why do we have leap years? Here's the science behind that strange extra day.
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Most of the time, a year is made up of 365 days. But 2016, just like 2012, and the year four years before that, has 366. And that vital extra day, a leap day, is (partly) what keeps our calendars in working order.
As users of a solar calendar, we rely on the sun to tell us how long a year is and when each of the four seasons begins. It was devised to match our farming habits and as a reliable — and visible — guide to the passing of time. The sun’s position on the horizon as it rises and sets moves over the course of a year, further south in the winter, and further **rth in the summer. This significant change is used to mark midwinter or midsummer at famous locations such as Stonehenge (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-35158234) and New Grange (http://www.newgrange.com/winter_solstice.htm). Read more... (http://mashable.com/2016/02/23/science-behind-leap-years/)
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Most of the time, a year is made up of 365 days. But 2016, just like 2012, and the year four years before that, has 366. And that vital extra day, a leap day, is (partly) what keeps our calendars in working order.
As users of a solar calendar, we rely on the sun to tell us how long a year is and when each of the four seasons begins. It was devised to match our farming habits and as a reliable — and visible — guide to the passing of time. The sun’s position on the horizon as it rises and sets moves over the course of a year, further south in the winter, and further **rth in the summer. This significant change is used to mark midwinter or midsummer at famous locations such as Stonehenge (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-35158234) and New Grange (http://www.newgrange.com/winter_solstice.htm). Read more... (http://mashable.com/2016/02/23/science-behind-leap-years/)
More about Calendar (http://mashable.com/category/calendar/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial), Science (http://mashable.com/category/science/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial), Solstice (http://mashable.com/category/solstice/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial), Leap Year (http://mashable.com/category/leap-year/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial), and Us World (http://mashable.com/category/us-world/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial)http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Mashable/~4/iCzGDEQreAA