Your age, any year
“How old will I be in 2050?” is one of the most common age questions there is, and the answer is almost but not quite a subtraction. Because birthdays fall part way through the year, you are actually two ages in any given year: one before your birthday and one after. The page gives both, along with the date the second begins.
The ruler above turns the question into a picture. Drag the slider and the marker moves along your life, the little figure grows, and the pins show dated moments you have lived through or can look forward to, each with the age you were or will be.
How we calculate it
Your age at the start of a year is that year minus your birth year, minus one; from your birthday onwards it is the year minus your birth year. For each event we use its exact date and compare it with your birthday that year, so the age shown is the one you would be on the day itself.
| Event | Date | Age if born 12 April 1990 |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Olympics open | 14 July 2028 | 38 |
| Unix time rolls over | 19 January 2038 | 47 |
| Total solar eclipse across the US | 12 August 2045 | 55 |
| Halley’s Comet at perihelion | 28 July 2061 | 71 |
| Transit of Venus | 11 December 2117 | 127 |
Worked example. Someone born on 12 April 1990 is 59 at the start of 2050 and turns 60 on Tuesday 12 April 2050. They were 10 when the new millennium began on 1 January 2001, will be 55 for the 2045 eclipse and 71 when Halley’s Comet returns in the summer of 2061.
Moments worth a calendar entry
Some dates are fixed by the sky rather than by people. Total solar eclipses cross the contiguous United States on 23 August 2044 and again on 12 August 2045, the second running coast to coast. Halley’s Comet, last seen in 1986, returns to the inner solar system in 2061. Knowing your age for each turns them into personal milestones, and gives something to plan for.
Questions people ask
Why does it show two ages for one year?
Because your birthday falls part way through the year. Before your birthday you are one age, and from your birthday on you are one year older. If you were born on 1 January, you are a single age for the whole year.
Is the future age a prediction?
No. It is plain arithmetic: the age you would be in that year. The page makes no forecast about anyone’s life.
Which events are on the timeline?
A small set of dated moments that many people remember or look forward to, from the Moon landing in 1969 to the return of Halley’s Comet in 2061 and the total solar eclipse across the United States on 12 August 2045. Future sporting events use host cities already announced.
Can I pick a year before I was born?
Yes. The page then tells you how many years before your birth that year was.
Sources. NASA eclipse predictions; IOC and FIFA host announcements; JPL orbit data for comet 1P/Halley. Calculations run in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.