<P> In the 2nd century BC Hipparchus measured the time required for the Sun to travel from an equinox to the same equinox again . He reckoned the length of the year to be 1 / 300 of a day less than 365.25 days ( 365 days , 5 hours , 55 minutes , 12 seconds , or 365.24667 days ) . Hipparchus used this method because he was better able to detect the time of the equinoxes , compared to that of the solstices ( Meeus & Savoie 1992 , p. 40 ) . </P>
<P> In the 2nd century BC Hipparchus measured the time required for the Sun to travel from an equinox to the same equinox again . He reckoned the length of the year to be 1 / 300 of a day less than 365.25 days ( 365 days , 5 hours , 55 minutes , 12 seconds , or 365.24667 days ) . Hipparchus used this method because he was better able to detect the time of the equinoxes , compared to that of the solstices ( Meeus & Savoie 1992 , p. 40 ) . </P>
when was the length of a year discovered
when was the length of a year discovered
2nd century BC
2nd century BC