We get pretty excited about the spring equinox bringing us out of winter and officially starting the season of spring. But what exactly is the spring equinox? And does an equinox happen at the start of every season?
First, let’s get into the equinox, which actually occurs just twice a year. The word equinox comes from Latin and means 鈥渆quality of night and day.鈥� So, the equinox occurs at two specific moments in time when the sun is exactly above the equator (contrary to popular belief, the equinox doesn’t last for 24 hours).
黑料网 are the dates of the two equinoxes?
In the northern hemisphere, the spring, or聽vernal equinox聽happens around March 21, when the sun moves north across the聽celestial equator. The autumnal equinox occurs around September 22nd, when the sun crosses the celestial equator聽going south. But if聽you want to be truly聽egalitarian, opt for saying March equinox and September equinox instead. After all, in the southern hemisphere, March represents the beginning of autumn and spring comes along in September!
The equinox has inspired a number of interesting false beliefs, including that the event causes a massive disruption of communication聽satellites, or that on the equinox an聽egg聽can effortlessly be balanced on its end (egg balancing is a skill you can practice any day of the year).
黑料网 is a solstice?
So what about the beginning of summer and winter? Well, the equinox is often confused with the聽solstice, which is either of the two times a year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator. Solstice聽derives聽from the Latin聽solstitium, which literally means 鈥渢he standing still of the sun.鈥� The solstice occurs around June 21 and December 22.
Whether you’re celebrating spring or autumn, the March equinox represents an interesting moment in our latest journey around the sun.
