Feb. 29, 2012 is Leap Day! The day is added every four years to
make the calendar have 366 days rather than the common 365 days.
But, what is Leap Year and why is a Leap Day added to the
calendar? Scientific Explanation of Leap Day A Leap Year is a
year that contains one additional day in order to keep the
calendar year in sync with the seasonal or astronomical year.
Leap years are necessary to keep the planet aligned with Earth's
revolutions around the sun. While the calendar assumes the Earth
revolves around the sun every 365 days, it actually takes the
Earth a bit longer - 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46
seconds. If the calendar were not adjusted for the extra six
hours by adding an extra day approximately every four years, the
calendar would slowly shift and the seasons would no longer be
aligned with the traditional months. Without Leap Days, the
calendar would be off by 24 days within 100 years. How Do You
Calculate A Leap Day? Leap Days occur in most years that are
divisible by 4, such as 2004, 20