The Chronicles of Local Space

A fictional exploration of nearby star systems

Binarian Calendar

Overview of the Binarian Calendar
Calendar Name	Binarian Calendar
Abbreviation	BY (Binarian Year)
World	Binaria Major
Epoch	2760 July 22 14:03:23 SCE
Days in year	224 or 225
Average length of calendar year	224³⁵⁄₃₃₃ (224.105105) local days
Average length of calendar year	266.025405 Standard days
Months in year	8
Days in week	7
Perpetual calendar	Yes
Unbroken week	No
Intercalation rules	Intercalate 1 day when the remainder of (35 × Year + 85) / 333 < 35

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First Month								Second Month								Third Month								Fourth Month
Wk	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa	Su	Wk	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa	Su	Wk	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa	Su	Wk	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa	Su
1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	5	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	9	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	13	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
2	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	6	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	10	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	14	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
3	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	7	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	11	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	15	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
4	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	8	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	12	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	16	22	23	24	25	26	27	28

Fifth Month								Sixth Month								Seventh Month								Eighth Month
Wk	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa	Su	Wk	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa	Su	Wk	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa	Su	Wk	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa	Su
17	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	21	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	25	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	29	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
18	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	22	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	26	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	30	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
19	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	23	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	27	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	31	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
20	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	24	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	28	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	32	22	23	24	25	26	27	28
																									Leap Day (29)

The renegade settlers of the harsh but beautiful world of Binaria Major devised their own calendar based on the motion of the sun. Careful astronomical observations quickly revealed that the world had a 224-day year. This length is remarkably convenient for a calendar because this could be neatly divided into eight 28-day months. A perpetual calendar was soon devised and it was in use by the third year of settlement.

It was soon found that an extra day had to be intercalated every nine years or so. This intercalary day was inconvenient because it would disrupt the simplicity of the calendar. The Central Committee decided that the intercalary day would not be a part of the weekday cycle but have its own name, Leap Day. The timing of the leap day was determined by observation of the sunrise of the last day of the year: the sun had to rise in a certain place on the first day of the new year or else a Leap Day was observed. In the second and third centuries of the colony, a better understanding of the exact length of the year permitted the establishment of a rules-based calendar.

The calendar has eight months, which do not have names. The first day of the year occurs at about the southward equinox, which is the equinox where the sun is moving from north to south. The new year traditionally begins at the first sunrise after the equinox, but the rule-based calendar causes the new year to deviate occasionally from the true equinox.

Record keeping in the colony during the first few decades was not consistent, and not all records from that time survive. The early timing of the leap day was determined by observation, and not all leap days were recorded. Thus, dates in the first forty years of the colony cannot be correlated to the later rules-based calendar with complete certainty. However, the timing of all but two of the earliest Leap Days has been established through various means and the uncertain Leap Days have been narrowed down to two possibilities. This is only inconvenient for historians who need to date early events accurately.

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