March Equinox Fun Facts
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If the spring equinox is sliding earlier and earlier now (according to the Gregorian calendar), why would it fall back to occurring on March 21 sometime in the 22nd century?
In order to keep the calendar years as close as possible to matching how long it takes the earth to revolve around the sun, we don't exactly have 1 leap year every 4 years (365.25 days/year), it is really 97 leap years every 400 years (365.2425 days/year). We have a leap year in any year divisible by 4, but the exception is that years divisible by 100 are not leap years, however, if the year is divisible by 400 the exception doesn't apply and it is a leap year. So 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years, 2000 was a leap year, 2100, 2200, and 2300 will not be leap years, 2400 will be a leap year, etc. Basically with a leap year every 4 years, the calendar year is slightly longer than an actual year (time for the earth to revolve around the sun), and this makes the equinox start slightly earlier. Then when you skip the leap year in 2100, 2200, and 2300, that makes the equinox start a day later.
Best explanation UsiNg plain language, visuals, & numbers. and I have > 10 leap years of experience. Or I just dont retain knowledge so constantly exploring the complex human world.
The artist of this picture is also an artist on greeting cards for leanin tree cards. www.leanintree.com artist Josephine Wall
I had no idea that the exact equal day and night lengths is actually a couple of days ahead of the calendar equinox.....
Also think it is very cool that there are natural and manmade structures that honor the equinox and sun position.
Loved the blog n painting! Learned a few things too. Is it possible to obtain a copy of the painting n any info u have on that too?
The artist is Josephine Wall. The painting is titled, “Breath of Gaia.” Gaia, a Greek goddess, personified Mother Earth and brought renewal to the land. Here is Josephine Wall’s Web site! https://josephinewall.co.uk/art-gallery/goddesses/
I always enjoy Bob Berman's entertaining and educational articles. This one reminded me of an experiment my friend and did in 2006 when we decided to test the theory that an egg could be balanced on its end on the vernal equinox. We took one out of the frig. Set it on the counter ever so carefully and lo and behold, it stood up! We were so excited we took a picture to document the event. We wakened the next morning and turned the calendar only to find out we had missed the equinox by a day. Our error or the calendar makers?
I also love that beautiful painting. It could be the cover of a Moody Blues album.
One of the best concerts I ever attended.
Ditto!