Happy Spring…
Happy Vernal Equinox, everyone! As always, I’m please to celebrate a legitimate astronomical event because, well, it actually happens. Plus, up here in Minnesota, the first day of Spring is most definitely a cause for celebration, even if there is still snow on the ground and a storm is sure to dump more sometime in April.
Here are some fun tidbits about the Equinox. Gotta dig any holiday or event that includes history, math, and astronomy, right?
The length of day and night may not be equal on the vernal equinox, but that doesn’t make the first day of spring any less special.The fall and spring equinoxes, for starters, are the only two times during the year when the sun rises due east and sets due west, according to Alan MacRobert, a senior editor with Sky & Telescope magazine.
The equinoxes are also the only days of the year when a person standing on the Equator can see the sun passing directly overhead.
On the Northern Hemisphere’s vernal equinox day, 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 also see the sun skim the horizon, but it would signal the start of six months of darkness.
(Found via mental_floss Blog.)