There happens to be some quite interesting astronomical viewing on this spring equinox, and the 6 nights before it too. Whatever your reasons may be, it is usually a time of year welcomed by everyone. The northern hemisphere is currently affected most by the outbreak of coronavirus and it is believed the virus flourishes in cold and dry conditions. The flowers bloom, the birds cheap, it starts to get warmer (in the northern hemisphere) and cools off from summer in the southern hemisphere. There are lots of reasons to get excited about the arrival of spring. The same happened to Venus which is why it rotates in the opposite direction to the other planets in our solar system! It is reckoned a huge asteroid once collided with earth to knock it off its axis. By contrast, the winter and summer solstice are marked by being the shortest and longest days of the year (shortest in winter, longest in summer).įun fact: The sun doesn’t shine in the same place because the earth spins on a tilted axis. On every other day of the year, it shines a little above or below creating longer days or longer nights. On the equinox, the sun shines directly on the equator. There are two equinoxes every year, the spring and autumn equinox in March and September respectively. One week from today!Įvery solstice and equinox people from all around the world come to Stonehenge, which was constructed to align with the changing seasons 5,000 years ago.Įquinox is a Latin word which translates to mean “equal night” (equi – equal nox – night) and it refers to the length of the night being equal to the length of the day. This year, the spring (or ‘vernal’) equinox is on Friday 20th March. Astronomically, the equinox marks the beginning of spring and the exact date varies slightly from year to year. Meteorological spring begins on March 1st, until summer on June 1st. If you are using the meteorological definition then congratulations, it is already spring for you! This follows the Gregorian calendar and simply divides the year into four quarters (and four seasons). I should begin by saying that there are actually two different dates for the beginning of spring.
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