This year, February has 29 days instead of 28, and every fourth year has an extra day in the second month. But why?
The reason behind an additional day every fourth year is the difference between the calendar year and the astronomical year.
Astronomical year
An astronomical year is the time taken by astronomical objects to complete one orbit. Earth takes approximately 365.2422 days to complete one orbit around the Sun.
On the other hand, a common year has 365 days.
Thus, to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year, one day is added to the calendar every fourth year.
Why is 2024 a leap year?
Every fourth year is a leap year. The last leap year was 2020, and the next leap year will be 2028.
To determine whether a year is a leap year or a common year, one needs to divide it by four, 100, and 400 separately.
For a year to be a leap year, one of the following conditions needs to be satisfied:
- Divisible by four. However, not divisible by 100.
- Divisible by 400.
