A few givens regarding calendar time.
Duration
The definitions of calendar time are derived from the astronomical measurements of three principle periods: the day, the lunation (lunar month) and the year.
A day is defined as 86,400 seconds.
The actual time between lunations may range from about 29.18 to about 29.93 days. The long-term average duration is 29.530589 days (29 d 12 h 44 min 2.9 s)
The mean tropical year, as of January 1, 2000 was 365.2421897 or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 45.19 seconds.
Start-End Points
As with any calendar system, the duration defines the length of any given period, however, the placement of these periods within the larger framework of natural phenomena defines when any given period begins and ends. theAbysmal Calendar derives its name from darkness, the imperceptible, the unknown and the unknowable. As such, the periods of calendar time begin at the point in their cycles where they are immersed in darkness.
The day begins at midnight as it is currently defined. Globally speaking, The day begins at midnight over 0 degrees longitude, or the International Date Line.
The lunation begins at the new moon.
The year begins at the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere.
Calendar Time
theAbysmal Calendar features a linear count of seconds, days, lunations and years in order to more easily translate between different calendar systems. This replaces Unix Time and the Julian Date.
The counts begin with 0, and progress by increments of 1 as follows:
second 0 ~ midnight december 21st 2012 CE
day 0 ~ december 21st 2012 CE
lunation 0 ~ december 13th 2012 CE to january 10th 2013 CE
year 0 ~ december 21st 2012 CE to december 20th 2013 CE (although new years for different calendar systems will need to be noted)
The lunation is observed as either 29 or 30 days, as is currently the case. The year is observed as either 365 or 366 days according to the schedule below.
This aspect of theAbysmal Calendar, a linear count of seconds, days, lunations and years is the ideal means by which to schedule astronomical events, such as solstices, equinoxes, aphelion, perihelion, planetary phenomena (conjunctions, transits and so on), meteor showers, etc… The source material for these are listed as Data Sources Online.
the Leap Year
Resolving the tropical year with the calendar year has been a problematic calculation over the centuries. The principle difference between the Gregorian calendar and the Julian calendar is the timing of the leap year day to compensate for the fraction of a day in the tropical year. The Julian calendar inserted a leap year day every four years, which makes the calendar year 365.25 days. The Gregorian calendar removed three leap year days from every 400 years, making its calendar year 365.2425, which is a little closer.
theAbysmal calendar inserts a leap year day every four years, with an exception every 128 years when no leap year is observed. This creates a calendar year of 365.2421875, which stands up well compared to the tropical year of 365.2421897 days.
theAbysmal Calendar
the Facts
the Perpetual 52~Week Year
the Lunar Months
Arguments for Reform
Implementation
Symbol and Synchronicity
