I remember hearing something about how the Mayans predicted that it took so many days for the sun to orbit the sun and then Nasa recently figure out that they were only slightly off. Does anyone know about this?
Thanks
Yes, I can explain that to you! The Mayans had a sophisticated understanding of astronomy and developed a calendar system known as the Mayan Long Count calendar. This calendar was used to track time and astronomical events. One of their significant measurements was the length of the solar year, or the time it takes for the Earth to orbit the Sun.
The Mayans believed that the solar year was approximately 365.2420 days long. This value was actually very close to the modern value of the solar year, which is around 365.2422 days. It is quite remarkable that the Mayans were able to calculate such an accurate estimate using their limited technology.
In contrast, the Julian calendar, developed by Julius Caesar in 45 BCE, approximated the solar year as 365.25 days, which turned out to be slightly longer than the actual solar year. This discrepancy led to a gradual misalignment between the calendar and the true astronomical events.
To correct this, the Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. It included a refinement to the length of the year, bringing it closer to the actual length of the solar year. In this calendar, leap years were adjusted to occur only in years divisible by 4, except for centennial years that are not divisible by 400.
NASA's involvement in this matter primarily revolves around their research and calculations on the Earth's orbit and the length of a sidereal year (the time for Earth to complete one orbit around the Sun relative to the stars). Through various scientific techniques like satellite observations and precise measurements, NASA's astronomers have been able to refine our understanding of Earth's orbit and its duration.
Ultimately, the Mayans' estimation of the solar year was indeed remarkably close to today's scientifically determined value. This demonstrates their sophisticated understanding of celestial movements and highlights their remarkable achievements in astronomy.