Position of the Solar System within the Milky Way
Diagram of the Milky Way. The current position of the Solar System shown by an arrow.
Galactic Tick Day
Observed byinternational
TypeEducational
2023 date10 September
2025 date5 June

Galactic Tick Day is an awareness and education day that celebrates the movement of the Solar System around the Milky Way galaxy.[1][2][3][4]

The day occurs at a regular interval of 1.7361 years (or 633.7 days),[5] which is called a galactic tick. The interval is derived from one centi-arcsecond of a galactic year, which is the Solar System's roughly 225-million-year trip around the Galactic Center.[6] One galactic tick is only about 0.00000077 percent (1/[360 × 60 × 60 × 100]) of a full galactic year.[7]

Occurrences

The first Galactic Tick Day took place on the day Hans Lippershey filed the patent for the telescope on 2 October, 1608.[8] The first observance of the holiday was on 29 September 2016, the 235th Galactic Tick Day.[9] Below is a list of further observances:

GTD number Date Ref
1st 2 October 1608 [10]
235th 29 September 2016 [10]
236th 26 June 2018 [10]
237th 21 March 2020 [10]
238th 15 December 2021 [10]
239th 10 September 2023 [10]
240th 5 June 2025 [10]
241st 1 March 2027 [10]
242nd 24 November 2028 [10]
243rd 20 August 2030 [10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "You Should Celebrate Galactic Tick Day, the New Holiday That Spans the Milky Way". Popular Mechanics. 23 August 2016.
  2. ^ MacDonald, Fiona (29 September 2016). "Happy Galactic Tick Day! You just moved around the Milky Way". sciencealert.com.
  3. ^ Schramm, Michael (29 September 2016). "What's a galactic tick (and why are we celebrating it today?)". Michigan Radio.
  4. ^ Sedacca, Matthew (29 September 2016). "Today Is "Galactic Tick Day"!". Nautilus (science magazine). Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  5. ^ "Se acerca el Galactic Tick Day ¿Qué se celebra?". Europa Press (news agency) Ciencia Plus.
  6. ^ "'Galactic Tick Day' Celebrates Sun's Trip Around the Galaxy". Space.com. 6 September 2016.
  7. ^ "Strange Science: Earth reaches Galactic Tick Day!". KIAH News Fix.
  8. ^ Gray, Frank. "California man hopes to inspire galactic awe". The Journal Gazette. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  9. ^ Goldstone, Heather. "Galactic Tick Won't Give You Lyme, But Might Make Your Head Spin". WCAI. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j @GalacticTick (22 March 2020). "The next Galactic Tick Day is December 15, 2021!" (Tweet). Retrieved 9 September 2023 – via Twitter.

External links

External videos
video icon Galactic Tick Day from Galactic Tick on YouTube
Chronology
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