“How long is one year?”
What’s the answer to that question? Most of us would reply, “365 days,” but we wouldn’t necessarily be correct. While we’ve been trained and told to round to 365 days, the measurement of a year is much more complex than a simple number. First of all, how do you measure it accurately? It’s not as if we can put a line in space and keep a stopwatch until we get to it again. We’re not on a stable, measured track. In fact, the question, “How long is one year,” only gets more complicated the further we dig into it.
What about leap years? Most of us recognize that ‘one year’ is not exactly 365 days, but is in fact a few hours, days and minutes longer. Rather than adding this extra time every year, however, we compile it into a leap year – really a leap day at the end of February – once every four years. This primitive jury-rigging of the gregorian calendar might nudge it back into place, but it still doesn’t answer the question, “How long is one year?”
I know what you’re thinking. If this doesn’t fix it, then why do we have leap years? How do we fix it? Simple answer: we can’t really. Because a year is not exactly the same every year. There are so many factors that go into our travel around our sun, that the most honest answer would probably be, “We don’t have an exact number.” Luckily, the video below explains the intricacies of calculating one Earth year.
Science videos have become more and more popular on YouTube as students search for ways to augment their textbooks. Many students prefer visual learning, watching an explanation on YouTube is a natural solution. Additionally, as many students turn to their old friend Google for answers videos like this will help guide them to the correct, science-based, answers.
