Dictionary of Computer and Internet Terms: Julian date
Julian date
- the number of days elapsed since January 1, 4713 b.c.e., counting that date as day 1. The Julian date is nowused primarily by astronomers. It is unrelated to the Julian calendar. The Julian date was introduced in 1582 c.e. by J. J. Scaliger, who named it for his father Julius. Its original purposewas to convert dates between various ancient calendars without using negative numbers. The Julian date of January 1, 2000 is 2,451,544.
- more loosely, any date expressed as a day count rather than as year, month, and day.
