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Leap Days May Be Going Away In the Not Too Distant Future

Posted by yaelk on from the happy-leap-year dept.

StartsWithABang writes: The need for a February 29th, once every four years, doesn't just give us an extra day this year, but it keeps the calendar from drifting and failing to align with the seasons. Even so, the scheme we have worked out today, where years divisible by 4 but not those divisible by 100 unless also divisible by 400 get an extra day, isn't perfect, and will get worse as time goes on. The current misalignment between our calendar and the actual Earth's orbit is big enough that we'll be off by a day every 3,200 years, but bigger news is that the Earth's rotation rate is changing, as our day lengthens and our spin slows down. In another 4 million years, we won't need leap days at all, and if we extrapolate backwards, we can find that early Earth had a day that lasted just 6.5 hours.

7 of 165 comments (clear)

  1. 4 million years == 'not too distant' by Ann+O'Nymous-Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    SINCE WHEN?

  2. Not too distant future? by nwaack · · Score: 5, Insightful

    False. I feel like I just got click-baited.

    1. Re:Not too distant future? by NormalVisual · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You did - look at the submitter.

      A submitter that has had dozens of articles accepted, but has posted exactly one comment, and that was merely to make a correction to his/her submission. I frankly would not be too upset to see a rule implemented that says if you're not an active participant on the site, you don't get to submit articles. It might help to curb some of the unabashed clickbaiting.

      --
      Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
  3. let's abandon DST first by turkeydance · · Score: 4, Insightful

    or make DST permanent. just stop changing the clocks. each US state can make that choice. it's not a federal thing.

  4. Bang by Longjmp · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Can someone make StartsWithABang end with a bang please?

    He's getting really annoying and any of his post isn't news nor relevant.
    No leap days soon? In 4 million years. Right.
    And I'm saying that as someone who is interested in astronomy.

    --
    There are fewer illiterates than people who can't read.
  5. Leap days are programming tests by WaffleMonster · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Those of you who didn't cut corners or use the wrong functions for manipulating date and time pass the test. Your reward is the lingering possibility of being fucked over by vendors who have failed the test.

    https://azure.microsoft.com/en...

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    https://technet.microsoft.com/...

  6. If a day is 6.5h... by walkermc20 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...then dinosaurs would "weigh" around 4.5% less than they should at today's gravity. Totally explains why they all died...as the earth started slowing, they eventually became too heavy to survive and all sank into the earth to become fossils. Quick! Get me some paper! I'm publishing a new textbook!