All life on Earth is determined by proximity to the sun and the motion of the planets around it and around its own axis.Year - a time during which our planet flies around the sun and the night - time for a complete revolution around its axis.People, of course, very convenient to prepare your business for weeks, to count a certain number of days in a month or a year.
Nature - not a machine
But it turns out that for a full revolution around the Sun, the Earth rotates on its axis is not the total number of times.That is, the incomplete number of days.Everyone knows that this is 365 times and this is the number of days in a year.In fact - a little more than 365, 25, that is, for the year accumulates the extra 6 hours, to be precise, the extra 5 hours 48 minutes and 14 seconds.
Of course, if no time is taken into account, the clock will develop a day, in those months, and after a few hundred years, the difference between the conventional and the astronomical calendar will be in a few months.For social life is totally unacceptable: shift all holidays, anniversaries.
Similar difficulties have been found a long time, even under the Roman emperors, or rather, with one of the greatest of them - Gaius Julius Caesar.
Order
Emperors Caesar in ancient Rome were honored equally with the gods, had unlimited power, so they are just one order altered the calendar and everything.
In ancient Rome, the whole year was based on the celebration of the Kalends, and non id (the name of the month).In this last month of the year was considered in February.Thus, in a leap year it was 366 days, with additional days were in the last month.
It is quite logical to add a day in the last month of the year, in February.And, interestingly, it was not added to the last day, as it is now, and an additional day before Kalendae of the month of March.Thus, in February it became two of the twenty-fourth.Leap years were assigned to three years, and the first of them happened in the lifetime of Gaius Julius Caesar.After his death, the system got off a little bit, because the priests made a mistake in calculations, but eventually the correct calendar for leap years recovered.
now leap years are considered a bit more difficult.And this is connected with those few extra minutes, which are obtained by introducing a full extra day every four years.
new calendar
Gregorian calendar, in which secular society lives at the moment, was introduced by Pope Gregory in the late 16th century.The reason why the introduction of a new calendar is that the former was inaccurate timing.By adding a day every four years, the Roman governor did not realize that so ahead of the official calendar will be accepted for 11 minutes and 46 seconds, every four years.
At the time of introduction of the new calendar was the Julian inaccuracy in 10 days, with the passage of time it has increased and is now at 14 days.The difference increases every century about a day.It is especially noticeable at the summer and winter solstice.And as of these dates are counted some holidays, notice the difference.
Calendar of leap years in the Gregorian reckoning a little harder than Julian.
structure
Gregorian calendar Gregorian calendar takes into account the difference in the official and the astronomical calendar in 5 hours, 48 minutes and 14 seconds, that is, every 100 years a leap year is canceled.
Since learn what a leap year, and what not?Is there a system and algorithm in the abolition of an extra day?Or is it better to use a list of leap years?
For convenience, this algorithm really introduced.Generally considered to be a leap year every fourth year, for the convenience of using the years that are multiples of four.Therefore, if you want to know whether a leap year birthday grandma, or the Second World War, you just have to find out whether the year is divisible by 4 or not.Thus, the 1904 th - leap 1908-th - the same as 1917 was - no.
leap year is canceled when the turn of the century, ie in the year that is divisible by 100. Thus 1900 was not a leap year, because it is a multiple of 100, non-leap year, and also the 1800 th and 1700 th.But once the day is incident is not a century, and for about 123 years, that is, again, need to be amended.How to understand what a leap year?If the year is divisible by 100 and divisible by 400, it is considered a leap year.That is, the year 2000 was a leap year, as well as the 1600-th.
Gregorian calendar with such complex amended so precise that extra time left, but we are talking about seconds.These are also called second leap that was immediately understood what it was about.They are two of the year and they are added on June 30 and December 31 at 23:59:59.These two seconds equalize astronomical and world time.
What distinguishes a leap year?
leap year longer than usual for one day, 366 days in it.Earlier, in Roman times, this year there were two days on February 24 but now, of course, the date considered differently.This year in February, one day more than usual, that is, 29.
but I think that a year in which there is February 29, unhappy.There is a belief that in leap years the mortality rate rises, there are various misfortunes.
happy or unhappy?
If you look at a chart of mortality in the USSR the second half of the 20th century in Russia, we can see that the highest level recorded in 2000.This can be explained by economic crises, low standard of living and other problems.Yes, two thousand was a leap year (as it is divided by 400), but whether it is the rule?1996 - does not a champion in terms of mortality, preceding it in 1995 the death rate was higher.
lowest level is almost half a century it reached in 1987.The year is not a leap year, but in 1986 the death rate was also low, much lower than, for example, in 1981.
Examples are many more, but it clearly shows that the mortality rate in the "long" year is not increased.
If you look at the statistics of fertility, the clear relationship with the length of the year, too, can not be found.Leap years of the 20th century did not confirm the theory misfortunes.The birth rate in Russia and in European countries falls evenly.The small rise was observed only in 1987, and then the birth rate begins to grow steadily after 2008.
Maybe leap year determines the kind of tension in politics or prejudice natural disasters or war?
Among the dates of the beginning of military actions can be found only a leap year: 1812 th - the war with Napoleon.For Russia, it ended quite happily, but, of course, was in itself a serious challenge.But neither the revolutionary year of 1905, nor in 1917 were not leap years.Year of the Second World War (1939) was certainly the most miserable year for the whole of Europe, but it was not a leap year.
In leap years there have been an earthquake in Armenia and the explosion of the hydrogen bomb, but events such as the Chernobyl disaster, the tragedy of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, volcanic eruptions and other disasters occurred in the most ordinary year.List of leap years in the 20th century is not the same as the mournful list of misfortunes and disasters.
reasons for unhappiness
Psychologists believe that all allegations of disastrous leap year by no more than superstition.If it is confirmed, it is said.If not confirmed, just forget about it.But the expectation of unhappiness itself may trouble and "pull".No wonder the man often happens is what he fears.
One of the saints said, "If you do not believe in omens, they will not be executed."In this case it could not be more welcome.
leap year in the Hebrew
In the traditional Jewish calendar uses lunar months, which last 28 days.As a result of the calendar year under this system lags behind the astronomical 11 days.To adjust routinely given an additional month of the year.Leap Year in the traditional Jewish calendar consists of thirteen months.
Leap year happens to Jews often: of nineteen years are usually only twelve and seven - leap.That is leap years the Jews much more than the usual case.But this, of course, talking only about the traditional Jewish calendar, instead of living to which the modern state of Israel.
Leap year: when the next
All our contemporaries are no longer face the exemptions in account of leap years.Next year, that will not be a leap year, it is expected only in 2100, it is hardly true for us.So the next leap year can be calculated very simply: the next year that is divisible by 4.
2012 was a leap year, 2016 will also be the first leap second will be 2020 and 2024-th, 2028 th and 2032 th.Get it quite simply.To know this, of course, necessary, but let this information is not scary.In leap years occur wonderful and joyous event.For example, people born on February 29 are considered lucky and happy.
