![]() ![]() Around each equinox, the afternoon Sun casts a series of the platforms’ triangular shadows on the wall of the staircase. The head of the Feathered Serpent is sculpted at the bottom of the northwest stairs. The temple design is nine terraced platforms with a staircase centered on each of the four sides. The pyramid is the temple of the god Kukulcan-the Feathered Serpent. Chichen Itza is a Mayan city on the Yucatan Peninsula with a centerpiece called El Castillo pyramid. There are two popular places in Mexico to celebrate an equinox: Chichen Itza and Teotihuacán. ![]() Direct sunlight shines on the equator, so the length of day and night is nearly equal for both hemispheres.ĭuring an equinox, the Sun shines directly on Earth’s equator, resulting in nearly equal amounts of daylight and darkness. During an equinox the tilt of Earth's axis and Earth's orbit around the Sun are positioned such that the axis isn't tilting one hemisphere toward or away from the Sun. Soon Washington, DC's Tidal Basin will be teeming with crowds to witness the annual splendor of its renowned cherry blossoms. But be patient because the first day of astronomical spring arrives March 19 when the Sun crosses the celestial equator going south to north, which is called the vernal equinox. Trees are in bloom in the Smithsonian's Enid A. Spring will also start on March 19 in 2028, according to time-keeping website spring arrived on March 1, and the first blossoms in the Smithsonian Gardens are starting to greet the passersby. The most recent March 19 first day of spring was in 1896. It is, however, the first time it's been on that day in over a century. The first day of spring is often March 20 or 21, but next year won't be the first time it's fallen on the 19th. The periodic shifting of the calendar due to leap years is the reason the official start of seasons shifts over a couple of days. ![]() Leap years are also the reason the spring equinox used to occur on March 21, versus March 20, in the previous century. 29 shifts the whole calendar, causing the spring equinox to occur on March 19 instead of March 20. Next year is one of these leap years, and the existence of Feb. "Eventually, in a few hundred years, July would actually take place in the cold winter months!" If we never had leap years, all those missing hours would add up into days, weeks and even months," the NASA website says. "Say that July is a warm, summer month where you live. The extra quarter of a day is not counted each year, but instead added up, so that every four years, February gains an extra day to make up those hours. The Earth takes 365.25 days to orbit the sun, which is rounded down to 365 days - the length of one year. ![]() The opposite tilt occurs in the Northern Hemisphere's summer, bringing warm weather to countries north of the equator.ĭuring spring and fall, the sun is shining equally on both the northern and southern hemispheres. Astronomical Applications department website reads.ĭuring winter in Canada, Earth is tilted on its axis diagonally, with the sun's rays hitting the Southern Hemisphere more directly, causing summer, the NASA website says. The orientation of the Earth's elliptical (meaning oval-shaped) orbit is shifting, as it "slowly" rotates on its axis, the U.S. WHAT HAPPENS TO EARTH DURING THE SPRING EQUINOX? On the first day of spring, the sun will be shining equally on both halves of the Earth, explains.īut next year, spring will come a whole calendar day early, with the first day falling on March 19, for the first time since the 1800s. The spring equinox occurs when the sun crosses the equator line going north, resulting in longer and warmer days for those living in the Northern Hemisphere. Known as the spring equinox, the day marks the end of winter, and brings hope for warmer weather. Spring is coming to Canada and officially begins March 20 at 5:24 p.m. ![]()
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