![]() This means that, in the Arctic, the Sun shines for 24 hours a day, while in the Antarctic, it does not shine. The schematic below illustrates this situation.Īt the June solstice (known as the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere and the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere), the north pole points as far towards the direction of the Sun as possible, whilst the south pole points away. ![]() They occur because the Earth’s axis of spin lies at an angle (23.5 degrees) to the plane on which it orbits the Sun. TPG/Getty ImagesĬNN’s Ashley Strickland, Christina Maxouris and Artemis Moshtaghian contributed to this article.The solstices and equinoxes are defined by Earth’s position in its orbit relative to the Sun. Top image: Children playing an egg standing game to welcome last year’s spring equinox in Hangzhou, China. Its closest approach will be at 12:03 p.m. It will also be moving much faster than most asteroids that fly by our planet, zooming by at 77,000 miles per hour. Known as 2001 FO32, the near-Earth asteroid will be 1.25 million miles away, or more than five times the distance between Earth and the moon, during its closest approach. Scientists estimate the asteroid is between 1,300 and 2,230 feet wide. The largest asteroid that has been predicted to make a close approach of Earth in 2021 will zip by – from a safe distance, we must add – on Sunday, according to NASA. And people across China eat local spring vegetables.įor people who like all things science and space, there’s a day-after-equinox bonus. The custom is thought to go back thousands of years, and it’s believed that if people can get an egg to stand, they will have good luck. In China, trying to stand an egg upright is a popular game during the spring equinox, according to. More than 300 million people will celebrate Nowruz (and you should, too) That’s why families use this time to deep clean their homes and closets and buy fresh clothing. It’s a celebration of new beginnings: wishing prosperity and welcoming the future while shedding away the past. So, the first day of the year always kicks off with the vernal equinox. The Iranian calendar is a solar calendar, meaning time is determined, through astronomical observations, by Earth’s movement around the sun. It’s no coincidence it falls on the first day of spring. ![]() Also known as Nauryz, Navruz or Nowrouz, it means “new day.” The new year will ring in on Saturday, March 20. When shoppers visit the market, they will get a free bundle of daffodils.Ĭultures around the world mark the occasion. So while some of the big draws are closed off, localities have plenty of safe ways to mark the coming of spring.įor example, Pike Place Market in Seattle will be celebrating its 24th annual Daffodil Day. Pike Place Market in Seattle will brighten visitors' day with daffodils. That’s why it gets increasingly hot as we head toward the summer solstice in June.īy the way, the equinoxes aren’t exactly ‘equal’ And now here we are at the spring equinox! Going forward, the Northern Hemisphere will be more exposed to the sun than the Southern Hemisphere. (That’s why it stays dark for so long each day during the winter in places such as Scandinavia and Alaska.)īut since the winter solstice three months ago in December, you’ve noticed that our days have been getting longer in the Northern Hemisphere and the nights shorter. Those are the solstices, and they have the most extreme differences between day and night, especially near the poles. The effect is at its maximum in late June and late December. This discrepancy in sunlight is what triggers the seasons. That positions one hemisphere of the planet to get more sunlight than the other for half of the year’s orbit around the sun. ![]() However, the axis tilts at 23.5 degrees, as NASA explains. It’s called the axis, and this rotation is what gives us day and night. The Earth rotates along an imaginary line that runs from North Pole to South Pole. Lovely cherry blossoms could be found in Ueno Park in Tokyo just a few days after spring equinox 2020. ![]()
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