![]() The northward equinox marks the beginning of spring in most regions and is celebrated as the new year per the Hindu, Persian, and Iranian calendars. As the name suggests, a Northward equinox would mean that the Celestial equator is being crossed by the solar declination in the northward direction and vice versa. Ignoring the hemispheres, the general names of both the equinoxes are Northward equinox and southward equinox, respectively. The date of an equinox may vary due to various factors, including the leap year. The reverse is true in the case of the southern hemisphere. In the Northern hemisphere, the Equinox of March is the vernal equinox, while the Equinox of September is called the Autumnal equinox. An equinox occurs because the plane of the earth’s equator passes directly from the centre of the sun’s geometric plane, which means that the centre of the visible portion of the sun is falling directly over the equator. This event takes place two times a year, i.e., on 20 March and 23 September. EquinoxĮquinox is that time of the year when the daytime and the nighttime are equal. Before looking at the differences between Equinox and solstice, let us look in detail at the equinox and solstice and what happens during that time. Solstice is when people on earth experience long days and nights. Equinox is when the length of day and night are the same. ![]() As a result, the Northern Hemisphere experiences the shortest hours of daylight on this date marking the beginning of winter, whereas the Southern Hemisphere sees the start of summer with the longest hours of daylight in a day.Equinox and Solstices, are two reasons why the earth has different seasons. On this solstice, the South Pole is tilted towards the Sun, and the North Pole away. The opposite is true of the December Solstice, which falls around 21/22 December. Conversely, in the Southern Hemisphere, where the South Pole is tilted away from the Sun, it is the beginning of winter, and they experience the day with the shortest hours of daylight. As a result, everyone in the Northern Hemisphere experiences the day in the year with the longest hours of daylight. ![]() For example, in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice happens around 20/21 June when the North Pole points directly towards the Sun. These are the points in Earth’s orbit when the Earth’s rotational axis is at its maximum tilt towards or away from the Sun. The two solstices occur approximately midway between the equinoxes, in June and December. This also explains why the date of Easter changes each year. Additionally, Easter Sunday is defined as the first Sunday after the full moon that falls closest to the spring equinox! (So, if the full moon falls on a Sunday itself, then Easter is the next Sunday). For example, the Harvest Moon is the full moon that falls closest to the autumnal equinox. We have the equinoxes to thank for certain events throughout the year. In September, the opposite occurs, when the equinox marks the beginning of autumn in the northern half of the Earth and the beginning of spring in the southern half. The March equinox signals the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere (it is sometimes referred to as the vernal equinox) and the beginning of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. The date of the equinoxes can shift each year but always fall around or on 20 March and 22 September. As the name suggests, on the equinoxes, day and night are of roughly equal length everywhere on Earth’s surface. These are called the equinoxes, from the Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night). There are, however, two points in the year when it is neither the North Pole nor the South Pole that faces towards the Sun, and the Sun instead lies over the equator.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |