And with its passing, I've observed another anniversary of my earthbound existence. In other words, I just celebrated my birthday.
And before you ask, I'm 53 years old..What exactly does 53 years old mean? Well, the easy response is, "Joel, you're getting to be an old fart". But I'm wearing my cosmic hat today, and I'm liking the answer, "Joel, the Earth has orbited the Sun 53 times while you've been alive".
So the concept of the year is linked to astronomical events from an earthly perspective. But what if lived on the planet Mercury? Putting aside the fact that the planet is far too hot to sustain life, I'd be 222 years old!!! Whoa!
This can be explained by the fact that Mercury completes its "yearly" orbit around the Sun in just 88 days. And it has done that 222 times since August 7, 1957 (my birthday).
The following lists what my age would be on some of the other planets:*Venus - 86 years
*Mars - 28 years
*Jupiter - 4 years
*Saturn - 1 year
Meanwhile, I'd be less than a year old on Uranus, Neptune and Pluto (Yes, I know Pluto isn't really considered a planet anymore, but I'm old school). These three planets haven't yet completed one full revolution around the Sun in my lifetime. In fact, I would have to wait almost two centuries for my next birthday on Pluto.
If you'd like to find out how old you are in other planetary "years", visit SolarBeat.
