What Is a Leap Year?

By jamie

Article Sources

Medical Expert

More About Us

The calendar that much of the world uses is based on how long it takes Earth to revolve around the sun. It is designed so that seasons line up pretty much the same each year and this helps us to plan effectively. For example, it is important to know when we should be planting so that crops have the best chance of growing.

The orbit does not take an exact number of days, however, making it very difficult to come up with an accurate calendar. As such, calendars have changed over the years to take this into account, while some countries use very different systems to each other. Here’s a closer look on just what a leap year is, and how the calendar has evolved over the years.

1. 365 and a Quarter Days in a Year

Non-leap years have 365 days. Except, that is not entirely true, regardless of how many days our calendars might show. The exact number of days that we have each year is 365 and a quarter or, to be even more precise, 365.24219. This presents a problem because our calendars don’t represent the correct amount of time it takes our planet to complete a single orbit of the sun. Using 366 days would not work either because it would be too many. If it were not for leap years, each season would start a day earlier every four years when using a calendar with 365 days.

Related Articles