Today, February 29th, is a leap day - a relatively rare occurrence. In 46 BC, Julius Caesar, featured here in a self-decreed minted coin, created a calendar system that added one leap day every four years. Acting on advice by Alexandrian astronomer Sosigenes, Caesar did this to make up for the fact that the Earth's year is slightly more than 365 days. In modern terms, the time it takes for the Earth to circle the Sun is slightly more than the time it takes for the Earth to rotate 365 times (with respect to the Sun -- actually we now know this takes about 365.24219 rotations). So, if calendar years contained 365 days they would drift from the actual year by about 1 day every 4 years. Eventually July (named after he died, for Julius Caesar himself) would occur during the northern hemisphere winter! By adopting a leap year with an extra day every four years, the calendar year would drift much less. This Julian Calendar system was used until the year 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII provided further fine-tuning when he added that leap days should not occur in years ending in "00", unless divisible by 400. This Gregorian Calendar system is the one in common use today.
Now you know....
26 Comments
Branden
2/29/2016 02:54:58 pm
Im the first one to comment!!!!
Reply
andy the awesome
2/29/2016 02:57:36 pm
those coins look cool
Reply
logan
2/29/2016 02:57:42 pm
hi
Reply
Braxton
2/29/2016 02:57:49 pm
Wow I Thought Leap Year Was Just For Fun Thanks You Really Educated Me P.S. I Am The Second One To Comment
Reply
andy the awesome
2/29/2016 02:59:23 pm
what do the coins have to do with leap year
Reply
(logan) this message is to branden
2/29/2016 02:59:43 pm
I.D.C. if you were the first to comment
Reply
Braxton
2/29/2016 03:00:27 pm
hi
Reply
andy the awesome
2/29/2016 03:00:38 pm
i dont really know about ceaser
Reply
Meirah
2/29/2016 03:02:34 pm
I love Leap Day!!!!!
Reply
sage
2/29/2016 03:03:39 pm
thats really cool mrs taylor!!!
Reply
lars
2/29/2016 03:04:29 pm
thats so cool i like leap year
Reply
Olivia Barlow
2/29/2016 03:04:36 pm
leap day is so cool
Reply
sammi the awesome
2/29/2016 03:27:46 pm
leap year peeps!!!
Reply
Dylan Thunnel
2/29/2016 03:47:41 pm
Say what?
Reply
the real Dylan thunelL
2/29/2016 04:42:13 pm
you know how i know that thats not me you spelt my last name wrong.
Reply
Dylan T
2/29/2016 04:44:10 pm
And i was at ballroom at the time you comented
Reply
Dylan T again
2/29/2016 04:45:07 pm
leap day is wiered
Reply
Duncan the duke of destroyer donuts who like digging
2/29/2016 05:46:34 pm
Wait! leap day? I thought it was leap year. Oh ya! Leap day is in leap year!...........SWEET! ;D
Reply
becca
2/29/2016 06:20:34 pm
i would love to be born on leap day! then i would be young! :)
Reply
Olivia Sharp
2/29/2016 06:21:11 pm
ya, me too
Reply
Eleda
2/29/2016 08:28:18 pm
I wonder how much those coins are worth? Also I guess being so young would have advantages, you would always be the biggest kid in my your class. Mr. Morton!!!!!!!
Reply
Lizzie
3/1/2016 06:26:24 am
That's really cool! I always thought that leap year was really weird...
Reply
sage
3/1/2016 06:40:57 am
thats super cool did u know that i was born on leap day!?
Reply
Allysa Bullock
8/31/2017 09:25:08 pm
Well that's very good and understandable
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Mrs. TaylorI love science! Everything about the world is interesting and never boring. I love to study plants, animals, insects, and people. My favorite subjects are my students who are the most unique organisms on the planet! Categories |