What you need to know for February 29: Why are leap years needed?

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This year we are experiencing a leap year again. So what exactly does this mean? So when do leap year babies celebrate their birthdays? Here are some fascinating facts about today’s February 29th, a date that only happens once every four years.

A year is the time it takes for the Earth to orbit the Sun once. Problem: The world needs about 365.25 days for this, not exactly 365 days. So each non-leap year is a quarter of a day shorter. This adds up to the fact that after four years the Earth has rotated too much on its axis. To compensate for this, one day is added at a time.

On March 1. And yes, this is regulated by law. From a legal perspective, some birthdays play an important role in determining when you can start driving, for example. The Swiss Civil Code states: “Everyone who has reached the age of 18 is an adult.” People born on February 29 are not yet 18 years old on February 28; hence they are only counted as adults from March 1st.

By the way, no one can celebrate their 18th birthday on February 29th. 18 years after a leap year are not leap years.

However, this does not affect many people in Switzerland. According to figures from the Federal Statistical Office, only 197 babies were born last February 29, 2020. In Switzerland, 2,335 children were born on February 29 in the last 50 years.

Calendar days will change gradually according to the actual season. Four years later the calendar would be about one day behind the actual season, and eight years later it would be about two days behind. If this is not balanced, it will continue like this. A few hundred years later it would suddenly be summer at Christmas and winter in July.

NO. Although it takes 365.25 days for the earth to revolve around the sun, it takes exactly 365.242190 days, that is, 365 days, 5 hours, 48 ​​minutes and 56 seconds. Even in leap years, you’re still eleven minutes and four seconds behind each year. Over time, even this small difference will cause a shift in the seasons of the calendar.

Therefore, everything becomes much more complicated: some leap years have to be skipped – that is, every four years does not count as a leap year. According to the rule, if the year is divisible by 100 but not 400, a leap year is skipped. For example, the year 2000 was a leap year, but the years 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not. The next time a leap year will be skipped will be the year 2100.

No, despite all these exceptions, the calendar does not exactly coincide with the Earth’s orbit around the sun. But the error is small: It takes more than 3000 years to deviate one day.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to add 5 hours 48 minutes and 56 seconds to the end of each year. Then night and day would change.

Herein lies the big problem: The cycle of day and night has nothing to do with the annual cycle. Day and night occur when the earth rotates around its axis. If you are on the part of the world currently facing the sun, it is daytime. This rotation of the Earth around its axis operates independently of the Earth’s rotation around the Sun. (SDA)

Source : Blick