Tag: equinox

Watch the sun’s shift on your horizon

Looking for an easy, but profound, sky activity? Note how far the sunset moves on your horizon, as spring shifts toward summer, or autumn toward winter, on your part of the globe. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/how-far-does-sun-move-on-your-horizon-each-day…

A Chinese perspective on spring

In Chinese thought, spring is associated with the direction east, the sunrise direction as Earth spins us toward the beginning of each new day. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/a-chinese-perspective-on-the-spring-equinox…

Does the equinox sun rise due east and set due west?

Yes, the sun rises due east and sets due west on the equinox. Explanation, charts, diagrams, here. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/equinox-sun-rises-due-east-and-sets-due-west…

Are day and night equal at the equinox?

Equinox means “equal night.” And you might hear that day and night are equal at the equinoxes. Yet Earth’s air and our sun conspire to give us more day than night at an equinox. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/are-day-and-night-equal-at-the-march-equinox…

Moon sweeps past 4 planets before sunup March 17-20

Enjoy the great sky show in the east before sunrise on March 17, 18, 19 and 20, 2020. The moon will appear as a thinner crescent each morning as it parades by the four morning planets: Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and Mercury. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/waning-crescent-moon-4-planets-before-sunrise…

Last quarter moon and planets before sunrise March 16

Look outside before dawn on March 16, 2020 for the last quarter moon. Its illuminated side will be pointing at the planets Jupiter, Mars and Saturn. Some people will catch Mercury, too, shortly before sunrise. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/last-quarter-moon-4-planets-before-sunrise…

See the zodiacal light

The weeks around an equinox are the best time to look for it. With the moon waning again, those in the Northern Hemisphere might glimpse the mysterious zodiacal light in the west after true darkness falls. Southern Hemisphere? Look east before dawn. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/look-for-the-zodiacal-light-in-the-west-after-sunset…

March equinox: All you need to know

The 2020 equinox comes March 20 at 03:50 UTC. It’s an event that happens on our sky’s dome and a seasonal marker in Earth’s orbit around the sun! Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-vernal-or-spring-equinox…

March full moon is 2nd-closest of 2020’s 3 full supermoons

The whole globe enjoys a full-looking moon on March 8 and 9, 2020. The exact time of full moon falls in daylight on March 9 for clocks in the Americas. It’s the 1st supermoon of 2020 and 2nd-closest full moon this year. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/super-worm-moon-on-march-9…