What Is A Leap Year?
Image: iStock
Leap years are years with 366 calendar days instead of the normal 365
Image: Unsplash
Every four years, we add this extra day to the calendar in the form of February 29
Image: iStock
Leap years occur every four years to synchronise the calendar with Earth's orbit
Image: iStock
Earth completes one entire orbit in 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds, so to account for that quarter of a day, it's tallied every four years into an extra day in the calendar
Since February only has 28 days, that's where the extra day is inserted
Image: iStock
2024 is a leap year, meaning about five million “leaplings” around the world will celebrate their once-every-four-year birthday on February 29, as per the BBC
Image: iStock
Previous leap years of this century include 2020, 2016, 2012, 2008 and 2004. The next leap years are 2028, 2032, 2036 and so on
In simple words, if the year can be evenly divisible by four, it will be a leap year
Image: Unsplash
Leap year is not unique to Earth but applies to almost every other planet in our solar system
Image: Unsplash
Heading 3
Take Mars, for instance; it has more leap years than regular years. A year on Mars consists of 668 sols, or Martian days
Check More Stories
Image: iStock
ndtv.com