Hari Kabisat 2024 is an additional day, February 29, inserted into the Gregorian calendar every four years to synchronize with Earth's orbit around the Sun.
The year 2024 brings with it an extra day, 29 Februari 2024, marking the occurrence of Hari Kabisat 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. Leap Day, falling once every four years is a fascinating phenomenon that plays a crucial role in maintaining the accuracy of our timekeeping system. While many born on February 29 celebrate their birthdays on February 28 during non-leap years, the significance of this extra day goes beyond mere birthday festivities.
Ridwan Abdullah, in his book, emphasizes the prevalence of the Gregorian calendar in our lives. This calendar incorporates a leap year system, wherein three out of four years at the beginning of each century consist of 365 days. The exception lies in the year at the start of the century, divisible by 400, making it a leap year. On 29 Februari 2024 Hari Apa will stretch beyond its usual length, offering 29 days instead of the customary 28.
The concept of a leap year is not exclusive to the Gregorian calendar. Various other calendars, such as the Jewish, Islamic, Chinese, and Ethiopian calendars, have their leap-year systems. Each of these calendars incorporates their unique methods of adjusting the time to account for the Earth's rotation around the Sun.
LiveScience sheds light on the necessity of leap years, pointing out that a year in the Gregorian calendar is slightly shorter than a solar year. While a calendar year is precisely 365 days, a solar year is approximately 365.24 days, equivalent to 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 56 seconds. Without considering this difference, the impact on seasonal time shifts becomes evident.
The National Air and Space Museum warns that without Hari Kabisat Adalah, we would face significant shifts in seasonal patterns, with summer in the Northern Hemisphere starting in December rather than June, within the next 700 years. The addition of a leap day every four years aims to rectify these time discrepancies, maintaining a balance between the calendar year and the Earth's orbit.
An annual surplus of about 44 minutes accumulates, equivalent to an extra day every 129 years. To address this, every 100 years, we skip a leap year unless that year is divisible by 400, such as the years 1600 and 2000. Even with these adjustments, a small discrepancy remains, leading to ongoing experiments like IBWM's leap second trials.
If we were to neglect the addition of a Kabisat Adalah to February 29, our calendar year would gradually shift ahead by about 6 hours annually compared to the Earth's rotation around the Sun. This discrepancy would result in our time calculation drifting away from the tropical year, causing a misalignment with the seasons. The seasons would shift by approximately 24 calendar days every 100 years without the stabilizing effect of leap days.
Leap years, as we know them, don't occur uniformly across all calendars. Some calendars feature additional leap days or even leap months to account for variations in astronomical calculations. In addition to leap years and leap days, the Gregorian calendar occasionally introduces leap seconds, as observed in 2012, 2015, and 2016.
The concept of leap year is not merely a quirk of our calendars but a vital component in maintaining the accuracy of our timekeeping systems. As we celebrate the Hari Kabisat 2024, it is crucial to appreciate the intricacies involved in synchronizing our calendars with the Earth's rotation. Ongoing experiments and adjustments showcase our commitment to refining our timekeeping methods and ensuring that our calendars remain aligned with the celestial dance of our planet around the Sun.
