The week between Christmas and New Year's Eve is the time we think about time, and it's about time that we reflect on this most puzzling aspect of astronomy.
Time is, of course, deeply rooted in the universe.
Scientists refer to time as the fourth dimension. That same object couldn't exist without the fourth basic dimension of time. An object without duration would simply wink out of the universe. Just as the universe doesn't have little inch marks etched on it, there are no real divisions into days or years. In that sense, our measure of time is a necessary fiction that allows us to live our lives efficiently.