Why do we have leap year??
So why do we have leap year is the question.. right... What if we say the answer is in the time it takes for the earth to rotate around the sun. Its generally called following the solar year.
Whatt??? How??? Well it takes only 365 days for earth to complete its revolution right?? So how does it affect the same.
So the answer is for the earth to complete its revolution it takes not 365 but around ~365.24 days. Hence to compensate for the extra time, we have an extra day every 4 year.
So any number that is divided by 4 can be considered as leap year with exception being the century years. For century years they need to be divisible by 400. So we can say 1900 will not be a leap year however 2000 would be a one. Also this Gregorian Calendar has a 2000 year old history to it as well.
If we need to understand how exactly this turned out to be the case, let's dive down below. 2 millenia down below!!!
So prior to the Gregorian calendar which is being used now, there was Julian calendar in picture which also served as the base for the Gregorian calendar. The Julian calendar had a 365 day year, however the advisors to the Roman Empire Julius Caesar spotted that the years were not aligning with the seasons. So around 45 BC it is said that the emperor decreed that from now on there would be an extra day every four years.
Well that's it, we came to know about the secret to the leap years. Believe me there's more to it.
The problem here was the difference was not exactly ~~0.25 every year.. It was around ~0.24 where the difference may not be significant but eventually this would show up. Which happened exactly when Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 was informed that the alignment of the seasons was shifted by 10 days [so much for between difference of 0.24 and 0.25 right??]
Scientific advisors to Pope calculated about the leap years how century years divided by 400 and normal years by 4 should be considered for leap year. What about the 10 days???
LETS DELETE THEM OUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well jokes aside, this is what happened!! Pope decided to chalk off days between 4 October 1582 and 15 October 1582.
We have the answers now, Don't we!! Also do you know similar to where Gregorian calendar follows solar year there are cultures which follow lunar year [Chinese Lunar Calendars]. Also there are cultures which follow an mixture of both solar and lunar year.
Fun Fact: It is said that the probability of someone being born in leap year is ~0.00067.
Another thought for the curious mind, it is said that the earth's orbit around the sun gets longer over the years albeit by a small difference. So there may come a time where we may have to eventually add a day or two to our current calendar year[ Hopefully we don't go extinct like the dinosaurs when the time comes ]
Speaking about dinosaurs, considering the earth's orbit around the sun might be less than what it is today. Did they have less than 24 hours for a day? Curious much??
That's about it for the curious mind. Until next time, let the curious mind wander on!
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