The arrival of the astronomical spring in Spain will officially take place this Tuesday, March 21, at 12:00 a.m. and will last 92 days and 17 hours until the end of June 21, when summer will begin, according to calculations by the National Astronomical Observatory.
The beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere is defined by the instant when the Earth passes through the point in its orbit from which the center of the sun crosses the equator celestial in its apparent northward motion.
On the day that this happens, the length of day and night practically coincide. This circumstance is also called the spring equinox. At the time when the spring season begins in the northern hemisphere, autumn begins in the southern hemisphere.
The National Astronomical Observatory points out in a report on spring that the equinox of this season can occur at most on three different dates throughout the 21st century and begin between March 19 and 21, with its earliest start in 2096 and the latest in 2003.
The variations from one year to the next are due to the way in which the sequence of years according to the calendar fits (some are leap years, others are not) with the duration of each orbit of the Earth around the Sun, known as tropical year.
Early spring is the time of year when day length lengthens most rapidly. At the latitudes of the Iberian Peninsula, the sun rises in the morning more than a minute earlier than the day before and in the afternoon it sets more than a minute later. Thus, the time the Sun is above the horizon at the beginning of spring increases by almost three minutes each day at these latitudes.
Facts about the vernal equinox
In the following, we will learn about facts about the day of the vernal equinox that make it a special day from the rest of the year:
The spring season begins astronomically and officially on the day of the spring equinox in one hemisphere, while the autumn season begins astronomically and officially in the other hemisphere.
Spring lasts about 92 days, from the vernal equinox to the summer solstice.
On the day of the equinox, the sun in its apparent journey on the horizon perpendicular to the Earth's equator.
Day and night are equal all over the world on the day of the equinox.
The dividing line between day and night on the globe passes through the north and south poles of the earth.
The day of the equinox is an opportunity to determine directions precisely because the sun rises in true east (at an angle of 90 degrees with the horizon), and sets in true west (at an angle of 270 degrees with the horizon).
The sun sets on the vernal equinox in March for the first time at the South Pole after a 6-month day.
On the vernal equinox in March, the sun rises for the first time at the North Pole after a 6-month night.
The vernal equinox does not necessarily mean the onset of warm weather or rapid changes in weather.
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