BellaOnline Forums Education Astronomy Happy Spring Equinox

You've made it through the winter and watched the food stores diminish. But the days are getting longer and green shoots are appearing. Spring is on the way. The festivals of the vernal equinox emphasize rebirth and renewal. In many cultures the equinox is also the New Year.

Spring Equinox

The Sun crossed the celestial equator yesterday at 16:15 UTC. That's the moment of the equinox. That would be 12:15 EDT in New York and 03:15 on March 21st in Melbourne, Australia. As spring has begun in the north, autumn has arrived in the southern hemisphere.

I liked Google's spring equinox greeting. It was designed by Sophie Diao.

Of course, March 20 was the Autumn Equinox in the southern hemisphere. Sophie Diao also designed this doodle for Google.

Equinox at Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico. See how the feathered serpent descends the side of the temple at the equinox. Note: the whole thing actually takes hours - it's dependent on the movement of the sun in the sky.