Colossal Questions Season 2 Episode 2 Why Is February 28 Days?

Colossal Questions is back for a new season, bringing viewers a delightful educational adventure in every episode. In the second episode of the second season, the show explores an intriguing question that has puzzled many people - Why Is February 28 Days?

February is the shortest month of the year and has only 28 days, except for leap years where it has 29 days. Many people wonder why the month was given such a peculiar number of days. The host of Colossal Questions teams up with experts and historians to find the answers to this riddle.

The episode starts by exploring the history of the Roman calendar, the predecessor of the modern Gregorian calendar used worldwide today. The Romans had ten months in their calendar and added two more in later years, making it twelve in total. February was one of the months and was initially given 28 or 29 days based on lunar cycles. The other months had 30 or 31 days.

The host then takes the viewers through the story of Julius Caesar, the Roman general who revolutionized the calendar in the year 45 BCE. Caesar was advised by an astronomer named Sosigenes of Alexandria to create a new calendar that would be more in line with the sun's movement. Sosigenes was a master of astronomy and math and calculated that a year was 365.25 days long, so Caesar added an extra day every four years to the calendar. This new calendar became known as the Julian calendar and had 365 days with an extra day added on February 29th every leap year.

The Julian calendar was widely accepted and used for several centuries, but it still had some issues. The extra quarter day was not accounted for with precision, meaning that the calendar slowly migrated out of sync with the sun. By the 16th century, the difference between the Julian calendar and the solar year was ten days. This difference created chaos when it came to determining the date of Easter, which was traditionally celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox.

To solve this problem, Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new calendar in the year 1582, known as the Gregorian calendar. This revised calendar added an exception to the leap year rule, so that years divisible by 100 are not leap years, except for those divisible by 400. This adjustment made the Gregorian calendar more precise and avoided the ten-day difference between the calendar and the solar year. As part of these revisions, February 29th was created as the leap year day, making February 28 days on non-leap years.

After this brief historical background, the episode dives deeper into the astronomical reasons why February has 28 or 29 days. The host explains how the Earth's rotation and its orbit around the Sun are not in sync, making one solar year longer than one rotation of the Earth around its axis. This pressure causes the movement of the equinoxes, which is the point of intersection between the Earth's orbit around the sun and the Earth's equatorial plane. The equinoxes cause the seasons to shift by about twenty minutes per year.

To add to the complexity, the host explains the Moon's relationship to the Earth and how it impacts the length of the month. The Moon takes approximately 29.5 days to orbit the Earth, and this lunar cycle creates a natural measure from which months are derived. The Lunar cycle is not an exact measure of a whole number of solar days, so it is difficult to align the monthly and yearly calendars.

Finally, the episode explores some interesting facts about leap years. The host explains how the leap year system works, how it has affected history, and how it impacts our lives. Leap years are essential because they help keep our calendar in sync with the seasons. The host also notes that a leap year increases the length of the year by a day, which can cause some interesting changes.

In conclusion, Colossal Questions season 2 episode 2 is an intriguing exploration of the history, astronomy, and math that determines why February has 28 or 29 days. The host of the show skillfully bridges the gap between history and science, explaining complex concepts in an easy-to-understand way. This episode is an excellent educational resource for both kids and adults alike and provides an engaging and informative look into the fascinating world of calendars and timekeeping.