New Years Is Not Just Another Trip Around The Sun

As we close the book on 2023 and ready to celebrate 2024, it’s tempting to view the new year as, well, just another trip around the sun.

From a purely astronomical standpoint, New Year makes no sense at all (no offence). It’s just our human-made calendars tick over, fireworks erupt, and resolutions are made, but the Earth keeps on orbiting, unaware of our arbitrary date changes.

In fact, in astronomy, there’s no ticking clock, no countdowns and no something like “New Year”. Our pale blue dot is floating in absolute nothingness as far as we are currently aware.

Before I might sound depressed, here’s the interesting thing – that same astronomical perspective can unlock a whole new way of looking at this new year. Because while our Earthly calendar might reset every December 31st, in the grand cosmic arena, things are a little different. Here’s how –

Beyond 365 Days

Did you know that it takes our sun a whopping 230 million years to complete one full orbit around the centre of the Milky Way galaxy?

That means the last time we were in the same spot in the galaxy as we are right now was… well, 230 million years ago! Pretty mind-blowing, huh?

Our sun itself is on a much grander scale orbiting the centre of our Milky Way galaxy for about 250 kilometres per second.

And, our Milky Way galaxy contains an estimated 100 billion sun-like stars, planets, and other celestial objects, which is about 100,000 light-years across.

Beyond this, the mass of the galactic disk is constantly pulling on our solar system. Like a drunk dolphin, our sun is diving down and shooting up hundreds of lightyears through the galactic plane, ten times every orbit.

It takes our sun tens of millions of years to go up and back once, and well humanity is not that old. So, we haven’t mapped this completely.

So yeah, when you jump into 2024 on December 31st, don’t just think of it as another year on the calendar. Think of it as your first-ever New Year at this particular location in the Milky Way. Pretty cool, right?

Want to hear more interesting things about New Year? Check this out – 11 Interesting Facts About New Year

Level Up Your New Year

To me this isn’t just some cosmic fact, it’s a reminder of the preciousness of life and the uniqueness of each moment.

Every new year is a chance to hit the reset button, make new goals, and become the best version of ourselves. But this year, you can do it knowing you’re doing it in a part of the universe you’ve never experienced before. How’s that for motivation?

So, before this year’s end, I would also like to say that we often get caught up in the daily grind and forget to look up at the stars. In the coming year, take some time to appreciate this beautiful gift of life and all the infinite wonders we have in front of our eyes or what we are yet to see.

Raise a glass to 2024 as this isn’t just another trip around the sun, it’s a brand new adventure in the grand tapestry of the universe.

Make it your most magnificent trip around the sun yet!

Happy New Year!