Saturday, March 20, 2021

Spring Sprung Sprang

 Today is the vernal equinox. For those whose Latin skills are lacking, that literally means "spring equal night"--the time when the sun crosses the equator and the day is equally divided between day and night (at the equator, that is; here in North America, that will actually happen in a week or so), better known as the first day of spring. Of course, in the southern hemisphere, this is the autumnal equinox, the first day of fall.

The next major astronomical event will be the summer solstice, when the sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer (as far north as it ever gets), the longest day of the year in the north, the first of summer. (In the south, of course, it's the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.)

In September, we can discuss the astronomical events around fall and winter.


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