Vernal Equinox, Say What?

Spring is such an inspirational time of year.  Have you wondered what all the astronomical fuss is about?
The first day of spring, the vernal equinox, has 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. The term vernal is Latin for “spring” and equinox is Latin for “equal night“.
Turns out Spring starts with all about your location on this magical spinning globe.
At this moment of Spring , Earth's axis is tilted neither away from nor towards the Sun, but is rather perpendicular to the Sun's rays,

The reason the equinoxes and solstices don’t always come on the same day is that Earth doesn’t circle the sun in exactly 365 days.
The first day of spring, the vernal equinox, has 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness.  The term vernal is Latin for “spring” and equinox is Latin for “equal night“.
In spring, the Earth’s axis is tilted toward the sun, increasing the number of daylight hours and bringing warmer weather.

As it stays light for longer in spring, birds know it is time to find a mate. They do this by singing to each other.

It is also probably no coincidence that early Egyptians built the Great Sphinx so that it points directly toward the rising Sun on the day of the vernal equinox.
Persephone was the Greek goddess of spring. She spent winters as Queen of the Underworld but returned in spring to preside over rebirth.

At Chichen Itza, Mexico, the Mayan celebrate the first day of spring with “The Return of the Sun Serpent.” During the spring and fall equinoxes the shadow cast by the angle of the sun and edges of the nine steps of the pyramid combined with the northern stairway and the stone serpent head carvings create the illusion of a massive serpent descending the pyramid.

On the first day of spring, a person at the North Pole would see the sun skimming across the horizon, beginning six months of uninterrupted daylight. A person at the South Pole would see the sun skimming across the horizon, signaling the start of six months of darkness.

At this moment, Earth's axis is tilted neither away from nor towards the Sun, but is rather perpendicular to the Sun's rays.
Wherever you are on the official astronomically observed first day, know that a new exciting beginning is about to happen all around you!


Full credit for the primary source of this blog and to learn more fun facts about spring.

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