- Oct 17, 2011
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The vernal equinox falling on March 19 is a phenomenon that has not occurred in the U.S. since 1896, according to Geoff Chester, the public affairs officer for the U.S. Naval Observatory.
This shift in timing comes from the uneven amount of days fitting into a calendar year.
The Gregorian calendar, created by Pope Gregory in 1583, factors in the extra 56 minutes and 4.1 seconds by including an extra day in February every four years as a leap year. However, an extra day every four years is an overcorrection to the calendar, and Pope Gregory accounted for this. For every century year, the calendar resets by skipping leap year. Every 400 years, it does not reset and maintains the leap year. The year 2000 was a year that did not reset; therefore, it had an extra day.
Berman said the skipped leap year will cause the remainder of the 21st century to have earlier leap year equinoxes. Each leap year for the rest of the century will arrive 43 minutes earlier than the leap year prior.
This shift in timing comes from the uneven amount of days fitting into a calendar year.
The Gregorian calendar, created by Pope Gregory in 1583, factors in the extra 56 minutes and 4.1 seconds by including an extra day in February every four years as a leap year. However, an extra day every four years is an overcorrection to the calendar, and Pope Gregory accounted for this. For every century year, the calendar resets by skipping leap year. Every 400 years, it does not reset and maintains the leap year. The year 2000 was a year that did not reset; therefore, it had an extra day.
Berman said the skipped leap year will cause the remainder of the 21st century to have earlier leap year equinoxes. Each leap year for the rest of the century will arrive 43 minutes earlier than the leap year prior.
