The spring and autumn equinoxes are an astronomical phenomenon in which day equals night, they mark the change of seasons. We know that the spring and autumn equinoxes occur at the moment when our Sun crosses the celestial equator in its annual movement along the ecliptic. These points, respectively, are in the constellations of Pisces and Virgo. Day spring equinox- this is the beginning of astronomical spring.
On the days of the solstices, our daytime luminary reaches the extreme points of its annual path through the sky - in summer it deviates 23.4 degrees north of the celestial equator, in winter - 23.4 degrees south. Therefore, in June, the Sun illuminates the northern hemisphere of the Earth more - and at the time of the solstice summer comes here, - and at the end of December - the south, and at this time we have winter (and summer in the southern hemisphere).
Below you can see the exact dates of the spring and autumn equinoxes for the city of Moscow, just like the winter and summer solstices.
| event | date Time |
| spring equinox | March 20 at 19:15 Tue |
| summer solstice | June 21 at 13:07 th |
| autumnal equinox | 23 september at 04:54 sun |
| winter solstice | December 22 at 01:22 Sat |
These dates were among the most revered in the pre-Christian period. Solstice, rotation, equinox, solstice - the names of solar holidays, which are also called the four hypostases of the Slavic Dazhdbog, which is the Sun itself - the son of Svarog.
Kolyada - winter solstice (December 21-22);
- Maslenitsa or Komoyeditsy - the day of the vernal equinox (March 21-22);
- Kupailo (Kupala) - summer solstice (June 21-22);
- Radogoshch (Svetovit, Veresen, Tausen) - autumn equinox (September 22-23);
Kolyada - winter solstice or the most long night in a year. During this period, the young sun Kolyada replaces the old sun Svetovit. Because the daylight hours from this day begins to increase. Replaced by the church on Christmas Day.
Maslenitsa or Komoyeditsy - the day of the spring equinox (day and night are equal in time), farewell to winter, burning of the effigy of Madder, meeting of spring and the Slavic New Year. The date March 21-22 is also the beginning of astronomical spring. From now on, the day becomes longer than the night. Yarilo-Sun replaces Kolyada and drives away Zima-Marena. Traditionally, this circle was celebrated for two whole weeks.
Kupailo is the day of the summer solstice. The longest day and shortest night of the year. The last day of the Rusal Week or Mermaids. Kupala is one of the oldest holidays that has preserved many traditions and customs unchanged to this day, for example: the funeral of Yarila, who is replaced by the God of the summer sun Kupala, the collection of medicinal herbs, the search for a fern flower, etc. Kupailo is also a great holiday, which is now replaced by the church on the birthday of John the Baptist.
Radogoshch (Svetovit, Veresen, Tausen) - the day of the autumn equinox (day and night are equal in time). On this day, the Sun-Old Man Svetovit takes over. The night is getting longer than the day. It is both a solar holiday and a holiday of the end of the harvest. Replaced by church for Christmas Holy Mother of God.
Day of equinox and solstice by year:Since ancient times, people have known what an equinox is, although the physical essence of the phenomenon could only be explained with the advent of astronomy. There are two days a year - the spring and autumn equinoxes - which are very important. At this time, the Sun passes a certain point where the ecliptic and the equator intersect.
astronomical event
For astronomy, the solstices, equinoxes play big role. So what is an equinox and why does it happen?
As you know, an astronomical event is associated with the tilt of the axis of our planet and the orbit of the star. The Earth has a tilt of 23.5 degrees, it has a southern and northern hemisphere, which are illuminated almost equally. Because of this, the length of day and night is almost equal on the entire planet, with the exception of certain areas. But twice a year, the illumination is uniform throughout the planet. After these two days of the year, the nights in the Northern Hemisphere lengthen and the days become shorter.
Normally, sunlight reaches the surface of the planet only at one pole, while at the other it is night. And only on the days of the equinox, the rays of the Sun reach both poles so that they illuminate half of the planet, while the other half remains night.
Dates
The equinox is always shifting. This is due to the fact that the Earth revolves around our star not in a circle, but in an ellipse. As a result of this movement, the spring equinox falls on March 20-12, and the autumn day falls on September 22-23. The day itself is equal in length to the night.
The vernal equinox
One of the unique natural phenomena is the spring equinox. At this moment, the Sun crosses the celestial equator. During the movement of the Earth and the Sun, a moment arises when the rays of the luminary fall on the equator vertically. During the transition of the Sun from one hemisphere of the planet to another, day and night remain equal.
The day of the equinox is considered to be the beginning of the astronomical season. The interval from spring to spring day is considered a tropical year. It has approximately 365.24 days. Because of this incomplete 366th day, the day is pushed forward by almost six hours.
And what is the equinox for people and how does it affect the planet? For many nations, the New Year begins on the day of the vernal equinox. This day is of great importance for Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan. Some other countries of the Silk Road also associate the beginning of the new year with this natural phenomenon.
On this day, darkness and light are equal. There was a time when there were no calendars. At that time, the beginning of spring was determined precisely by the day of the equinox. It is believed that from this day the renewal of nature begins - the trees wake up, you can hear the first thunder, greenery begins to grow.
Our ancestors on the holiday of the spring equinox rolled burning wheels from the hill as a sign of respect for the Sun, its symbol. Festivities took place all over the country - people burned bonfires, jumped over them, danced, pulled the rope. On the spring equinox, baked goods were prepared and treated to loved ones, relatives, and taken as a gift to their ancestors.
autumn day
And what is the equinox and when does it happen, as is celebrated by the peoples of the world? Autumn day coincides with a large number of different celebrations.
In ancient Greece, a beautiful legend was associated with the autumn equinox, according to which the goddess of fertility Persephone returns to Hades in the underworld. On this day, various magical rituals, evaluate the successes and failures of the past months.
In China, the Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival, is held on this day. This day celebrates the abundance of the harvest. Traditionally, a moon cake is prepared on this day, to which goose eggs, lotus, dried fruits, and sesame are added.
In Japan, Higan is celebrated. Usually on this day, the Japanese commemorate the dead, decorate the graves. Higan has been celebrated since the nineteenth century.
In the middle of autumn, the pagans celebrated Mabon - the holiday of the cycle of the seasons. It is marked by the harvest of the second harvest, the beginning of winter preparations. It was customary on this day to “go to nature”, collect leaves, seeds.
After the day of the equinox, when our luminary passes into the Northern Hemisphere from the Southern, the astronomical change of seasons begins on Earth. So, spring comes to the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn comes to the Southern Hemisphere.
On the days of the equinox on the planet, day and night are equal to 12 hours. Although this statement has a small caveat, because at the North Pole and in the southern regions, time goes differently. "Almost" equal day and night are not actually equal. If we carry out exact mathematical calculations, then the day is longer than the night. Its duration is 12 hours 12 minutes.
Since ancient times, people have known what an equinox is and how the Sun moves across the sky. These days, the luminary rises strictly in the east, and sets strictly in the west. After the day of the vernal equinox, the Sun will begin to rise higher, the length of the day will increase. In autumn, the process is reversed: the day becomes shorter and the night longer.
Our ancestors believed that on the days of the equinox, you can find out the name of your husband, make wishes that will come true.
Hello, dear readers of the Sprint-Answer website. In this article we will find out the answer to the question about the place on the globe where day equals night throughout the year. Question was asked in game "Who want to be a millionaire?" October 28, 2017, a review of which can be read by clicking on the link above. Also, this question often appears in numerous quizzes.
Where on the globe is day equal to night throughout the year?
The correct answer is highlighted in blue and bold, a list of answer options can be seen below. Here's what Wikipedia tells us about it.
The length of the day depends on the geographical latitude of the place and on the declination of the Sun. At the earth's equator, it is approximately constant and is 12 hours 7 minutes; deviations from half a day are due to the very definition of sunrise and sunset, since sunrise and sunset are traditionally considered to be the moment the upper edge of the solar disk crosses the visible horizon, and not the moment the center of the Sun crosses the true horizon. In addition, the length of the day is also affected by the refraction of the sun's rays. Incline earth's axis to the plane of the ecliptic determines fluctuations in the longitude of the day. In the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth, the longitude of the day is more than 12 hours from mid-March to the end of September, and with increasing latitude it increases to the polar day. From late September to mid-March, it is less than 12 hours, and with increasing latitude, the length of the day decreases to the polar night. In the Southern Hemisphere - on the contrary: from mid-March to the end of September, it is less than 12 hours.
8. Where on the globe is day equal to night throughout the year?
- at the poles
- on the polar circle
- on the prime meridian
- at the equator
There are four moments in the annual cycle that play a significant role in life on Earth.
People have long known about the existence of these transition points, but the physical essence of these phenomena became clear only with the development. We are talking about two solstices (winter and summer) and two equinoxes (spring and autumn).
What is a solstice?
At the everyday level, we understand that the solstice is the day with the longest (summer solstice) or shortest (winter solstice) daylight hours. Our distant ancestors knew well that the day shortens before the winter solstice, and after it begins to increase. In summer, everything happens the other way around. It has also been observed that on the day of the winter solstice the sun occupies the lowest position above the horizon, and at the time of the summer solstice it passes the highest point for the whole year.
What is happening with our planet and the Sun from a scientific point of view? Recall some astronomical concepts.
Celestial sphere- an imaginary surface that we look at while on Earth and looking at the sky. For us, earthly observers, it is in the celestial sphere that all celestial objects move, including the Sun.
Ecliptic- a circle located on the celestial sphere, along which the movement of the Sun relative to the Earth occurs.
celestial sphere - a circle located on the celestial sphere perpendicular to coincides with the equator of the Earth.
Due to the fact that the Earth's axis is inclined to the orbit of the planet around our star, the equator of the celestial sphere and the ecliptic do not coincide. Due to this, the seasons change with the moments of transition - the solstices.
On the day of the solstice, the Sun passes through the points of the ecliptic that are farthest from the celestial equator. Otherwise, it can be expressed as follows: the solstices are the moments of the greatest (winter) or least (summer) deviation of the earth's axis from the Sun.
Winter and summer solstice
Winter solstice occurs on December 21 or 22 (date may vary for different time zones). On this day in the northern hemisphere, the shortest daylight hours and the longest night are observed. The summer solstice falls on June 21 and is distinguished by the fact that this date has the longest daylight hours and the most fleeting night. 
In the southern hemisphere, opposite processes take place: there is a summer solstice in December, and a winter solstice in June.
What is an equinox?
There are two more important points in the annual cycle - the days of the spring and autumn equinoxes. These days the Sun passes the intersection points of the celestial equator and the ecliptic. The days of the equinoxes fall in the middle of the period from one solstice to another (although due to the fact that the earth moves around the Sun not in a circle, but in an ellipse, the dates shift slightly).
The spring equinox falls on March 20 or 21, and the autumn equinox on September 22 or 23. As the name implies, the equinoxes are the moments when the day is equal in length to the night.
How do the solstices and equinoxes affect life on Earth?
People have always known that critical points in the movement of our luminary across the celestial sphere affect nature. This is especially true for residents of northern latitudes, where the change of seasons is more pronounced. For example, from the day of the March equinox, real spring comes to us: it becomes warmer, the soil warms up, plants come to life. This is of great importance for agriculture.
It is no coincidence that the agricultural calendar has always been associated with the days of the solstices and equinoxes. These dates included important pagan holidays, some of which were adopted by Christianity. Here are the holidays:
Winter Solstice - Catholic Christmas and Kolyada;
Spring equinox - Maslenitsa;
Summer solstice - the feast of Ivan Kupala;
The autumn equinox is a harvest festival. 
As you can see, in the technocratic 21st century, we celebrate these events without even thinking that they are connected with the annual solar cycle and how dependent our ancestors were on natural phenomena.
The equinox ... happens twice a year, namely, at the intersection of the equinox, the equinox (equator) by the solstice: the spring equinox happens on March 9; autumn - 10 September. Equinox circle, the same, the equator.
"Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language"
V.I.Dal
Spring Equinox for an Earthly Observer Sergey Ov"
Fig.1 The movement of the Sun on the Day of the Spring Equinox in the area north of the Tropic of Cancer. Sunrise is near the east, sunset is near the west
Day of spring equinox- it the day when spring comes, considers the majority of the inhabitants of the planet Earth.
Indeed, all over the world it is customary to read that on the day of the vernal equinox, astronomical spring sets in in the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth, in the southern hemisphere - autumn, well, and most of Humanity still lives in the Northern Hemisphere...
That is why the northerners are looking forward to the spring equinox, because with it spring comes and begins to warm up!
With the Day of the Equinox, there is a widespread misconception that "on this day the length of the day is equal to the length of the night." In fact, in the northern hemisphere, the length of the day aligns with the length of the night a few days before the spring equinox. For example, at the latitude of Moscow, usually the length of the day begins to exceed the length of the night from March 18th.
This issue is discussed in detail in the article, where as a result it is clearly shown that at the Equinox the length of the day is the most equalized across the globe y.
It was this sign that was taken as fundamental for the name of the event: Equal Day across the Earth = Equinox- this sounds unifying and in fact more true, in contrast to the twilight Western: Equinox" (literally from the Latin " equal to the night
" -This is where the roots of the universal centuries-old delusion are!).
How is the Spring Equinox "appointed" and what is the equinox?
Within the framework of modern astronomical science, the most obvious definition for an earthly observer is accepted: The exact date of the intersection of the center of the Sun with the celestial equator is called the equinox. From the point of view of a space observer at the time of the equinox, the tilt of the earth's axis coincides with the direction of its orbital motion(the plane of the earth's axis is perpendicular to the line connecting the centers of mass of the Earth and the Sun - Scheme 1).
Thus, the point of intersection of the celestial equator with the ecliptic through which the Sun passes moving from south to north is called vernal equinox point(ecliptic coordinates 0°, 0°; equatorial coordinates 00h00m00s, 0°; currently located in the constellation )
The point in the Earth's orbit at the vernal equinox is called orbital point of the vernal equinox .
The day of the Spring Equinox is the day on which the moment of the spring equinox falls.
In 2020, on the territory of Russia, the Spring Equinox Day, the whole country celebrates the day of the spring equinox on March 20, since, according to Moscow time, the sun will pass the vernal equinox point on 03/20/2019 06:50 Moscow time.
Scheme 1. Planet Earth at the orbital point of the vernal equinox, the plane of the ecliptic and the inclination of the earth's axis
Earth at the summer solstice and the tilt of the earth's axis
Earth at the vernal equinox, ecliptic and tilt of the earth's axis, mini
Click on image to enlarge and see explanation...
The main sign of the orbital point of the vernal equinox is that at this point the plane of the earth's axis perpendicular to the ecliptic also forms a right angle with the direction to the Sun and, therefore, the angle between the direction to the center of the Sun and the line of the earth's axis is exactly 90°
(The earth is rotated so that both poles are visible from the direction of the sun).
Events associated with the spring equinox
According to the basics of celestial mechanics, as well as the Law of the Russian Federation "On the Calculation of Time", the date of the vernal equinox in Central Russia in a leap year and the two following years is usually March 20, in the year preceding a leap year - March 21.
| Year | Year | Date of the vernal equinox (MSK) | |
| 2016 | 20.03.2016 07:30 | 2020 | 20.03.2020 06:50 |
| 2017 | 20.03.2017 13:28 | 2021 | 20.03.2021 12:37 |
| 2018 | 20.03.2018 19:15 | 2022 | 20.03.2022 18:33 |
| 2019 | 21.03.2019 00:58 | 2023 | 21.03.2023 00:24 |
In 2020, the Earth will be at the vernal equinox March 20, 2020 06:50 MSK(03/20/2020 03:50 UTC - ).
In this case, the following events will occur:
1. Will come astronomical spring.
2. According to the zodiac position, the Sun will move into Aries zodiac sign.
3. Day length all over the planet will be as equal as possible and will average 12 hours 8 minutes.
4. at the equator at noon The sun will be at its zenith.
5.The sun will rise almost exactly in the east, a will come almost exactly on west (Fig.1).
6. By measuring the angle of maximum elevation of the Sun h sun(Fig.1), can determine the latitude φ
= 90° -h sun, in Moscow, for example, φ
= 90° - 34.460°=55.54°.
7. All Over the Earth the day will be longer than the night.
8. In the Northern Hemisphere, a few days before the equinox, the day will equal the night ( in Germany, for example, such a day is specially marked as Equilux
), and the polar day will come beyond the Arctic Circle
On the morning of this day, at a clear dawn, a ray of sun will touch the stone mark of the vernal equinox at Stonehenge, just like in other ancient structures designed to provide calendar timekeeping.
Customs and Traditions Associated with the Spring Equinox
In pre-revolutionary Russia of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Spring Equinox fell on March 9 (old style), Forty Sorokov (Magpie) was celebrated on this day, larks were baked - this was the second meeting of spring, the first, as a rule, fell on Maslenitsa.
But in Japan, the Spring Equinox Day is a public holiday (jap. 春分の日 Shunbun no hi) and a public holiday.
In Iran and India, countries where Zoroastrianism took the status of an official status, on the day of the spring equinox they celebrate New Year. And in those territories where the descendants of the peoples who inhabited ancient Persia settled, they celebrate Novruz - a holiday carefully preserved by the people for more than one millennium.
In Europe, all kinds of spring fairs and festivals coincide with this day, but stable traditions have not yet developed.
Unfortunately, nothing can be reliably said about the ancient Slavic celebrations on the eve of the vernal equinox - practically nothing has come down to our days from the pagan mythology of Russia.
True, you don’t need to have 100 spans in your forehead to guess that the “Sun Festival” - our Russian Maslenitsa, which is now tied to Cheesefare Week, was celebrated on the Day of the Spring Equinox before “baptism with fire and sword”.
Proverbs and sayings related to the spring equinox
"On Magpie, the day is compared with the night."
"The equinox in spring shows light, in autumn - twilight."
Orbital point of the Earth's vernal equinox
By definition, the equinox is a moment that is quite difficult to practically establish with great accuracy (and, as a result, expensive), so it is determined by calculation, and refinement measurements are taken directly on the equinox.
When calculating, you can use the following signs of the spring equinox:
The angle between the direction to the center of the Sun (S spring O) and the line of the earth's axis (S spring N) is exactly 90° ();
- the plane passing through the center of the Sun and the axis of the Earth has an inclination to the plane of the ecliptic 90°- ε = 90°- 23.44° = 66.56°,
- the line of intersection of the plane of the equator with the plane of the ecliptic coincides with the line connecting the center of the Sun and the center of the Earth (direction to the Sun - B 2 O, );
- the line connecting the center of the Sun and the center of the Earth passes through the equator.
In the figure of scheme 1, it is not at all accidental that the semiaxis of the Earth's orbit - the line A 1 O is shown noticeably smaller than the semiaxis OA 2. This is true - the Earth's orbit is currently stretched towards the point of the summer solstice.
As a result, the time interval from the moment of the spring equinox to the autumn equinox is longer than from the autumn equinox to the spring equinox by 7 days 13 hours 21 minutes (March 2020 - September 2020 interval 186.4 days and September 2020 - March 2021 interval 178.84 days). The average difference of equinox intervals for this century is 7 days. 13h 37m
The vernal equinox
Earth observation
Sergey Ov
On the day of the equinox, the Sun rises almost exactly in the east and sets almost exactly in the west, and if you measure the angle of maximum elevation of the Sun h sun, then you can easily determine the latitude of the area φ = 90 ° -h sun.
Earth at the vernal equinox
View from near-Earth space
Earth at the vernal equinox, tilt of the earth's axis (big picture)
Sergey Ov
Designations:
B 2 B 1 - a line connecting the center of the Sun and the center of the Earth - the direction to the Sun;
S spring - orbital point of the spring equinox in this moment coincides with the center of the Earth;
S spring N - line of the earth's axis;
∠CS spring N - tilt angle of the earth's axis ε = 23.44° (23.4392811° ± 0.0047222°);
∠CS spring O - the angle between the direction to the Sun and the plane of the earth's axis;
d is the angle of incidence of sunlight at the equator at noon (the sun is at its zenith).
At point S, autumn, the plane of the earth's axis perpendicular to the ecliptic, also forms a right angle with the direction of the Sun
Sergey Ov(seosnews9)
id="seasons">1. Equinox- the moment at which the center of the solar disk, during its apparent annual movement along the ecliptic, crosses the celestial equator. On the days of the equinoxes, the length of the day on the whole Earth, excluding the regions of the earth's poles, is almost equal to the length of the night, differing from 12 hours only by a few minutes due to refraction and a significant angular diameter of the Sun. The point at which the center of the Sun crosses the equator when moving from the Southern to the Northern Hemisphere is called the vernal equinox, the opposite point is the vernal equinox.
Big Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd ed. 1969 - 1978
2. Celestial equator - big circle of the celestial sphere, the plane of which is perpendicular to the axis of the world, is a projection of the plane of the earth's equator onto the celestial (stellar) sphere. The celestial equator divides the stellar sphere into the northern and southern hemispheres, the poles of which are called, respectively, the celestial poles. The constellations on which the celestial equator is projected are called equatorial.
3. Ecliptic- trajectories of the annual movement of the Sun visible from the Earth. The plane of the ecliptic coincides with the plane of the Earth's orbit
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