The equinoxes and solstices are caused by Earth’s tilt on its axis and ceaseless motion in orbit. Meanwhile, you’ll find the opposite season – later sunrises, earlier sunsets, chillier winds, dry and falling leaves – south of the equator. In the Northern Hemisphere, the March equinox brings earlier sunrises, later sunsets and sprouting plants. More March equinox effectsĪnd there are also plenty more effects in play around the time of the March equinox that all of us can notice. At the equinox, the sun is directly above Earth’s equator. Read more: Sun rises due east and sets due west The day arc of the sun, every hour, at the equinox, as seen on the (imaginary) celestial sphere surrounding Earth. Voila! The sun rises due east and sets due west. The sun is on the celestial equator, and the celestial equator intersects all of our horizons at points due east and due west. That point marks the intersection of your horizon with the celestial equator: the imaginary line above the true equator of the Earth. No matter where you are on Earth – except at the Earth’s North and South Poles – you have a due east and due west point on your horizon. This illustration shows the sun’s location on the celestial equator, every hour, on the day of the equinox. At the equinoxes, the sun appears overhead at noon as seen from Earth’s equator, as the illustration below shows. It’s the case no matter where you live on Earth. You might hear that the sun rises due east and sets due west at the equinox. Read more: Fastest sunsets happen near equinoxes An equinox is an event that takes place in Earth’s orbit around the sun. We’re talking here about the length of time it takes for the whole sun to sink below the horizon. The fastest sunsets and sunrises of the year happen at the equinoxes. Read more: Are day and night equal at the equinox? Fastest sunsets at the equinoxes For our ancestors, whose timekeeping was less precise than ours, day and night likely did seem equal. In fact, the word equinox comes from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night). Night and day are often said to be equal in length. Equal day and night on the equinox?Īt the equinox, Earth’s two hemispheres are receiving the sun’s rays equally.
Note: No matter where you are on Earth, the equinox brings us a number of seasonal effects, noticeable to nature lovers around the globe. When is the next one? The March 2023 equinox will arrive on March 20 at 21:25 UTC. What is it? The March equinox marks the sun’s crossing above the Earth’s equator, moving from south to north.
The March equinox – also called the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere – marks the beginning of the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumn season in the Southern Hemisphere. Photographer Marcella Giulia Pace said: “I made these observations from Gatto Corvino village, Sicily, Italy … I chose a field where the western horizon was clearly visible and always shot from the same spot, every 10 minutes, beginning at true local noon.” Thank you, Marcella! Image via Earth Science Picture of the Day/ Universities Space Research Association. The path of the sun across our sky – from about noon to sunset – on an equinox, a summer solstice and a winter solstice.
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