The Science behind Leap Year
Astronomy
The Science behind Leap Year
Why we get an extra day in February every four years—2020 being one
BU astronomer JJ Hermes explains why we have to add a day to the calendar every four years.
What makes February 2020 special? Aside from being on track to be one of the warmest on record (at least in the Northeast), it’s also a leap year. What is a leap year, you ask? It’s where we add an additional day to our calendar in February every four years (the year is always divisible by four) to keep it in sync with the astronomical, or seasonal, year. In the video above, JJ Hermes, a College of Arts & Sciences assistant professor of astronomy, explains why leap year is so important to our calendars.
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