12/5/2023 0 Comments Vernal equinox meme![]() Some people commemorate the day by tending to the graves of their ancestors. In Japan, the day of the spring equinox is a national holiday called Shunbun no Hi. The centuries-old holiday is observed by millions of people around the world and lasts 13 days. However, it’s unclear what, if any, meaning the equinox held for those who constructed the ancient monument, as they left no written record about why or even how it was built.Īmong various spring holidays is Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which starts on the vernal equinox. While the Maya were skilled astronomers, it’s unknown whether they specifically designed the pyramid to align with the equinox and create this visual effect.Īt Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument in England featuring the remains of a circle of huge standing stones, druids and pagans congregate to watch the sun rise on the equinox and welcome spring. On the spring equinox, the snake descends the pyramid until it merges with a large, serpent head sculpture at the base of the structure. At the dawn of the vernal equinox, at an entire astronomical precessional cycle before 10,450 BC, all monuments of Giza were perfectly aligned with the I constellations as follows: The Sky above Giza at Vernal Equinox in the year 36,400 BC: my proposal on Historical Golden Age of the Zep Tepi (processing by Armando Mei) age zap tepi table. At the ruins of Chichen Itza, the ancient Maya city in Mexico, crowds now gather on the spring (and fall) equinox to watch as the afternoon sun creates shadows that resemble a snake moving along the stairs of the 79-foot-tall Pyramid of Kukulkan, also called El Castillo. The word solstice comes from the Latin “solstitium,” meaning “stopped sun.” Spring Equinox Traditionsįor centuries, people have celebrated the vernal equinox. The winter solstice, on December 21 or December 22 in the Northern Hemisphere, happens when the sun is farthest south of the equator it’s the shortest day of the year. The summer solstice, on June 20 or June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs when the sun is farthest north of the equator it’s the longest day of the year in terms of daylight. ![]() In addition to two annual equinoxes, there are two solstices every year. The Difference between an Equinox and a Solstice Since the Earth actually takes about 365.24 days to orbit the sun, equinoxes happen around six hours later from year to year, before moving back a day on leap years. Six months after the March equinox, another equinox occurs around September 22 or 23 and marks the beginning of fall in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere. Additionally, equinoxes are the only two times a year that the sun rises due east and sets due west. Someone standing on the equator on an equinox can observe the sun passing directly overhead. As the Earth orbits the sun over the course of a year, different places get sunlight for different amounts of time.Īn equinox occurs at the moment when the Earth’s axis doesn’t tilt toward or away from the sun. The Earth tilts at an angle of 23.5 degrees on its axis relative to its plane of orbit around the sun. So at the moment of the vernal equinox, the Sun stands at celestial coordinates zero-zero - beginning a new circle through the stars.The vernal equinox occurs on March 20 or March 21 each year and signals the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere (and fall in the Southern Hemisphere). It’s the equivalent of zero degrees longitude - the line that runs through Greenwich, England.Īnd just as Earth’s equator marks zero degrees latitude, the celestial equator is designated zero degrees declination. The point where the Sun crosses the celestial equator on the vernal equinox is designated as zero hours. They measure the positions of astronomical objects using coordinates called right ascension and declination - the equivalent of longitude and latitude. The vernal equinox marks the starting point for the system that astronomers use to plot the sky. ![]() But for several reasons, the interval between sunrise and sunset - which should be exactly 12 hours - varies by a few minutes. And “equinox” means “equal nights.” Theoretically, all points on Earth should see equal amounts of daylight and darkness on the equinoxes. The word “vernal” comes from the Latin word for spring. Over the next three months, the Sun will travel ever farther northward, bringing longer, warmer days to the northern half of the planet. That’s the moment of the vernal equinox, when the Sun crosses the celestial equator - the projection of Earth’s equator on the sky - from south to north. Spring arrives in the northern hemisphere today, at 10:32 a.m. ![]()
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