For any of our readers who, like us, are more than ready for Spring to come we’re taking a slight break from our regularly scheduled dental content to share with you some fun and fascinating facts about the spring equinox (which is only two days away—not that we’ve been counting down or anything!).
So without further ado here are some interesting tidbits for you to store away for future first dates, dinner parties, or any other function where having a fun nugget of knowledge to share is always appreciated!
- Fact 1: The spring equinox is also known as the March or vernal equinox. Vernal is derived from the Latin word Vernalis, which means “of spring” hence this season’s name.
- Fact 2: The equinox isn’t a full day but is actually a specific point in time when the Sun crosses the celestial equator—or the imaginary line in the sky directly above the Earth’s equator. For this moment the Earth’s axis is perpendicular to the Sun’s rays rather than tilted towards or away from them. This year’s equinox takes place at 5:58PM EST.
- Fact 3: It’s the spring equinox for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere (Buh-bye, winter!) but the autumnal equinox for those in the Southern Hemisphere, whose seasons are opposite ours based on the relation of the sun to the tilt of the Earth’s axis.
- Fact 4: Both the spring and autumnal equinoxes mark the two times a year when the days and nights are about the same length for both hemispheres because they are equally exposed to the sun’s light. Otherwise, the hemisphere pointed more towards the sun has longer days and shorter nights and vice versa.
- Fact 5: The official date and time of the spring equinox is measured in UTC or Coordinated Universal Time, which is the primary standard by which the world regulates its date and time. This means that the official day of the spring equinox might not actually be the day on which it’s celebrated in some places. All the time zones in the U.S. are behind UTC, which means that we almost always celebrate the equinox on its official day.
- Fact 6: The spring and fall equinoxes are the only two days a year when the sun rises exactly due east and sets exactly due west. A handy tip for honing your sense of direction is to pick a specific point where you live and remember its location in relation to the sunrise or sunset on an equinox—then you’ll always know the four points of direction.
- Fact 7: This year’s spring equinox coincides with a supermoon, making it an exciting day for stargazers—the last time this happened was in 1981! A supermoon occurs when the moon is full while at its closest point to earth in its rotation, making it appear both larger and brighter than a typical full moon. Astronomers expect this supermoon to be 14% brighter. The best time for viewing the supermoon will be 9:43PM EST on March 20.
Now that you’re enlightened about all things spring equinox head on out and spread the knowledge! And if there are any other facts we’ve missed be sure to share them in the comments.
So without further ado here are some interesting tidbits for you to store away for future first dates, dinner parties, or any other function where having a fun nugget of knowledge to share is always appreciated!
