Book 5, Question 126
Happy New Year! Why Do We Count Years?
A year is about how long it takes Earth to travel once around the Sun. Counting years helps people keep track of seasons and plan things, like when to plant crops or celebrate. Calendars are a tool for keeping track of time.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 5
More fun facts
- Earth takes about 365.25 days to travel once around the Sun. That trip is called a solar year.
- The Sumerians, who lived about 5,000 years ago in what is now Iraq and Kuwait, split the year into 12 months of 30 days each.
- That gave the Sumerians a 360-day year, which was about a week too short.
- If a calendar skipped almost 6 hours every year, it would get badly mixed up after many years.
- Leap years happen because Earth's trip around the Sun and its daily spin do not line up perfectly.
Sources: NASA Space Place, National Geographic Kids
Questions kids ask
What is a solar year?
It is how long Earth takes to travel once around the Sun, about 365 and a quarter days.