What day of the year is equal to night. Day of spring equinox. Where on the globe, day is equal to night throughout the year

It seems that until recently we were happy with the onset of summer and warmth. But summer is fleeting, and now autumn has come. The leaves on the trees seem to be woven into a red-yellow-crimson carpet, and the sun is getting smaller day by day.

It is at this time that we celebrate the Day of the Autumnal Equinox - what date will it be in 2020 and how is it celebrated? Read about all this in the article.

What happens on this day?

First, let's define what the autumnal equinox is. The answer is very simple, because it is contained in the word equinox: day is equal to night, that is, the duration of daylight and darkness is the same.

Distinguish between the autumn equinox, which is celebrated in September, and the spring equinox, in March. Some also talk about the autumn solstice, but this is wrong. After all, there are only summer and winter - in June and December.

The date of the holiday in different years falls on different days: September 22 or 23. The exact date depends on the year, it's all about the shift in the calendar due to leap years.

In 2020, the autumnal equinox will occur on September 22 at 16:31 Moscow time. If you live in another region, you can calculate the time yourself, knowing Moscow time.

After this holiday, the night becomes longer than the day. Watch the video, which reveals the astronomical essence of the equinox phenomenon:

On September 22 or 23, the Sun passes from the Virgo zodiac sign to the Libra sign, and the astrological autumn begins (the period of the Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius signs).

Since the sign of Libra is associated with harmony and prudence, at this time you should impartially evaluate your life. What have you achieved, what goals have you achieved? It's time to take stock.

On the day of the autumnal equinox, there is no place for passions and adventures. On the contrary, it is important to take a sober look at the present moment and thank the Universe for the benefits that it has given you.

Autumnal equinox table until 2025

Year	Date and time in Moscow
2019	September 23 10:50
2020	September 22 16:31
2021	September 22 22:21
2022	September 23 04:03
2023	September 23 09:49
2024	September 22 15:43
2025	September 22 21:19

Rituals

The day of the Autumnal Equinox is a time of powerful energetic influences. It's a great time to lead the rituals.

Leaf fall

Prepare everything you need for the ritual: a bunch of bright autumn leaves, an ovenproof pot, and a marker (black or blue). Let's get started:

1. Calm down and tune in to contemplation. To do this, you can listen to music with sounds of nature or meditate.
2. Think about what you would like to get rid of.
3. Write each such item on an autumn piece of paper with a marker. Keep it short - just one or two words. The main thing is to make it clear to you.
4. When you write, try to think about it with detachment, as if what you write is not happening to you.
5. Light the leaves in turn, let them burn in the fire. Burn them in a saucepan. Remember safety. When the leaf burns out, mentally say goodbye to the bad event or character trait.
6. Blow the ash from the burnt leaves in the wind when finished.

Abundance

There is a wonderful ceremony that can attract benefits into your life. It consists of expressing gratitude to those people who helped you this year.

You need to bake pies and distribute them to selected people with words of sincere gratitude:

• meat pies will attract good luck in your career;
• cabbage - money abundance;
• fruit and berry - happiness in family life.

Give a few pies to the poor, as well as to relatives and neighbors, even if they did not help you. In the new year, goodness will return to you threefold.

To get married

Girls who cannot find a groom in any way turned to this ritual:

1. you need to wear a red dress or skirt;
2. write a wish on a piece of paper;
3. bury a leaf under a mountain ash;
4. to pick a branch from that mountain ash and bring it home;
5. put it under the pillow at night;
6. take it out in the morning and dry it;
7. store until a groom is found.

Raising money

Since the holiday of the Autumnal Equinox is associated with abundance in every sense of the word, rituals for money are of great importance. Here is one of them:

We will need a large amount of cash. One that you can live on for at least a week. If you do not have that much cash, withdraw money from your bank account in advance.

On a holiday, take the money in hand and count it. Take your time, enjoy the feeling of money in your hands. You need to count the bills three times.

Do not ask for anything. Just thank the Universe that gave you this money so that you can provide yourself with everything you need. Perform the ritual and your income will increase in the new year.

Video rituals

Folk signs

There are many signs on the Autumn Equinox. Here are some of them:

• What the weather will be on this day, such is the whole autumn.
• If there are a lot of berries on the mountain ash, autumn will be rainy and winter will be harsh.
• If there are few berries on the mountain ash, autumn is expected to be dry, little rain.
• It takes a whole week to celebrate to ensure wealth.
• If the birds fly away in flocks that day, the winter will be cold.
• Whoever met the wedding procession will be happy for a whole year.

The wisdom of generations is collected in folk signs. Therefore, perhaps it is worth listening to them.

The festival of the autumn equinox among different peoples

The autumnal equinox is celebrated all over the world. Different peoples celebrate this day in different ways, but they all have similar features - people rejoice at the end of the agricultural season, a bountiful harvest. They also honor the ancestors of the clan.

Autumn among the Slavs

The Slavs celebrate three holidays with this name. The first are autumn - September 14. The second - September 21. Still others - September 27. We will talk about the second autumn, which falls just on the Autumn Equinox.

On this holiday, there was a tradition of venerating older women. In the morning, women gather on the shores of lakes or rivers, bring oat bread and greet Mother Osenina.

The oldest woman carries the bread in her hands. And the young sing songs around her. Oat bread is broken into as many pieces as women participate in the ceremony. Later, this bread is fed to livestock.

Another custom on Oseniny is visiting newlyweds. Young families invited relatives to visit. The hostess fed everyone with a hearty dinner and showed the household, all this was done with a touch of bragging. Relatives praised the hostess and taught wisdom.

The owner took the guests to the courtyard, showed the barn with supplies for the winter, sheds with harness. Then he led everyone into the garden and treated them to beer from the keg, saying:

Not only young people, but also all villagers had a feast to mark the harvest and the end of agricultural work. If the harvest turned out to be rich, then the festive table was bursting with food.

After the adoption of Christianity, the holiday began to be associated with the Nativity of the Virgin - September 21. Believers turn to her with requests for prosperity and good luck, health and a rich harvest for the next year.

Childless couples prayed for the birth of a child. A young woman wishing to become pregnant laid a rich table and called the poor and needy to pray for the health of future children.

Celtic holiday Mabon

A great holiday celebrated at the Autumn Equinox. It is usually celebrated between September 21st and 24th. Sometimes the celebration lasts three days.

The holiday got its name from the character of the same name in Welsh mythology, which symbolizes male fertility.

Mabon is characterized by three main aspects:

1. Liberation from all unnecessary, obsolete and obsolete. You must leave it in the past.
2. Honoring all female ancestors, a reminder of their services to the family.

Family celebrations were held on Mabon, everyone gathered together, distant relatives often came to visit. The time is right, because the crop has already been harvested and you can leave the fields for several days. Of course, at the festive feast, they remembered the ancestors, especially the female.

1. Gratitude to nature for the harvest, collecting the "second harvest" - apples, as well as bragging about reserves for the winter.

It was customary to decorate the house with autumn leaves, pine branches, acorns, wheat straw, ripe ears of corn, cones, and corn.

On this day, we definitely went to the forest, closer to nature. So, the druids climbed to the top of the mountain to touch the Sun, which day after day will lose its power. They strove to feed on his energy so that they could last for a long winter.

However wandering around autumn forest alone was considered dangerous. The lords of the fairy kingdom also go out for a walk on the days of the autumnal equinox. If a person walks in the autumn dew, bathes in a lake or river, he will cease to belong to himself. Soon he will yearn for an incomprehensible melancholy.

In Mabon, it was customary to show off the harvest and supplies for the winter, and then eat the best vegetables and fruits. This was a magical effect that should protect against a hungry winter and help preserve the harvest.

It was customary to demonstrate the gifts of nature in the main square. And immediately after the holiday, autumn fairs opened and festivals were held.

Magic practitioners carved out new tools: runes, brooms, staves, wands. Druids had a strong connection with the tree world, so their tools are usually made of wood.

I suggest you watch a video that conveys the mood of the autumn holiday:

Food on this holiday is plentiful and appropriate for the season:

• pumpkin and zucchini;
• corn;
• apples;
• grapes;
• beans.

It is customary to bake bread and tortillas from corn flour, to prepare various dishes from beans.

Traditional drinks:

• compotes;
• homemade wines, especially cherry wines;
• barley beer;
• apple cider.

Higan in Japan

I already wrote about Higan na. But its autumn brother is more ambitious and loved by the Japanese. It is usually celebrated on September 23, but in some years the date may shift to September 22. This is an official day off in Japan.

Higan is a Buddhist holiday associated with the veneration of deceased ancestors. The name "higan" is translated as "the other side". That is, the place where people go after death, where their souls move.

In advance, the Japanese do general cleaning at home. Particular attention is paid to the home altar, where there are photographs of ancestors. Fresh flowers are brought to them, special ritual food is displayed.

The Japanese on the day of the Autumn Equinox eat only vegetarian food, remembering the prohibition of killing animals in Buddhism.

On the holiday menu:

• vegetables and vegetable broths;
• beans;
• mushrooms;
• gomokuzuki - rice with vegetables and spices;
• dessert ohagi - rice balls with bean paste.

And in Japan, just on the autumn equinox, a beautiful fiery red flower called Higanbana blooms:

Sede in Zoroastrianism

One of the most important holidays of the year for the Zoroastrians. On this day, they say goodbye to the warmth and the sun, which from this day shines for a very short time.

Winter was perceived as the death of nature, the triumph of the forces of Evil. And the autumnal equinox is the time when the planet goes to the dark side. Despite this, a divine particle of the Sun - Fire - remains on Earth.

Plants die off or go into winter sleep. But the life force is transferred to ripe fruits, and with them to the seeds. Thanks to them, the revival of nature will be possible in the spring on the Novruz holiday.

On this day, the Zoroastrians must make an internal choice between Light and Dark, if they have not done so earlier.

On the Autumn Equinox, 8 lights are lit, prayers to the gods are read. The holiday is celebrated from noon to sunset on September 23rd.

Before the Autumnal Equinox, you must fast. And on a holiday it is customary:

• eat seeds;
• drink pomegranate juice or milk.

Thus, the date of the autumnal equinox is celebrated in different cultures, while carrying a similar meaning. This is a time of preparation for winter and reverence for ancestors, a time of joy for a bountiful harvest and performing magical rites.

The vernal equinox, or the time when the day is as long as night, falls annually in March - and in 2018 this day will come on the 20th.

Equinox, that is, the time when the length of the day and night are equal, happens twice a year - in spring and autumn. Change of times in modern world determined by the calendar, and in ancient times, these days were considered a change of seasons. The spring equinox, scientists consider the astronomical beginning of spring, which lasts three months, until the summer solstice - in 2018, falls on June 21.

Therefore, since ancient times, the day vernal equinox people considered it a long-awaited and mystical event.

When day is equal to night

The vernal equinox comes when the Sun moves from the southern hemisphere of the celestial sphere to the northern one. At this time, the Earth, moving in its orbit, will cover a quarter of a year's path. The equal duration of daylight and darkness is explained by the fact that the two hemispheres will be exactly half illuminated by the luminary.

The seasons of the hemispheres change from the day of the vernal equinox. Since that time, an astronomical spring begins in the northern hemisphere of the Earth, and an astronomical autumn in the southern hemisphere. And so it continues until the day of the summer solstice.

Six months later, when the Sun, continuing its movement, passes from the southern hemisphere to the northern, the equinox will come again, but the Sun at this time is on the opposite side of the orbit.

The date of the vernal equinox is historically considered March 21. At the First Ecumenical Council in 325, it was on this day that a general rule was adopted to determine the day of the celebration of Easter.

According to the rule, Christians celebrate the Bright Resurrection of Christ on the first Sunday after the spring full moon, but not earlier than the spring equinox.

The vernal equinox falls on different dates every year, since it does not have a fixed day and hour and is shifted by almost six hours every year. Due to the fact that the astronomical year differs from the calendar, the vernal equinox can fall from March 19th to 21st.

In leap years, the earliest equinox dates are observed, and the latest in the years that precede leap years. In a leap year, the time is adjusted and the equinox returns to the previous date.

Traditions and customs

Many peoples of the world day of spring equinox since ancient times it was considered a great holiday - magical and ritual. Spring festivals in the ancient and Middle Ages were held cheerfully and with rituals calling for the fertility of the earth and the well-being of people.

The Great Sphinx was erected by the ancient Egyptians so that during the vernal equinox, it pointed directly to the rising sun. Many peoples have preserved this holiday in their calendar to this day. To the tradition of ancient farmers Central Asia and the Middle East, the holiday of Navruz, which in Farsi means "new day", has its roots. For many peoples professing Islam, the holiday has become an integral part of their culture - the day of the equinox as a national holiday is celebrated by the Kirghiz, Kazakhs, Tajiks, Tatars, Uzbeks, Bashkirs and many others.

On the day of the vernal equinox, New Year is celebrated in many eastern countries, including Afghanistan and Iran. For the Germans and Celts, the vernal equinox was associated with the rebirth of spring and indicated the beginning of the agricultural season. The hostesses, in order to please the goddess Ostara (one of the most "ancient" goddesses, who was worshiped at the end of the 2nd millennium BC) and to welcome spring in a special way, painted eggs and baked wheat buns. Slavic holiday the Shrovetide comedian is also timed to coincide with the spring equinox - on this day, people saw off the winter and met the spring that embodies the rebirth of nature. In the old days, people believed that the more fun the holiday was, the more generous nature would be to them.

The day of the vernal equinox in Russia was called "Magpies" because at that time many birds flew in, namely 40, and the lark, which returned first, was considered a symbol of the holiday. On this day, according to an old custom, they baked cookies in the shape of a bird and presented them from the whole village to the one who first saw the lark. Then the remaining sweets were handed out to the children so that they would invite larks into their turn, which, according to popular belief, would bring spring with them. In many countries, this day is magical, as it is the only one in the year when spring meets spring. Usually at this time, fortune-telling and solemnly burn a scarecrow of winter, meeting the long-awaited spring.

Signs

On the day of the vernal equinox, according to signs, they monitor the weather, and if it is warm on this day, then there will be no cold weather and frost until summer. The day of the vernal equinox is best spent with family or with a loved one - on this day you cannot quarrel, get upset, sort things out with loved ones. In order to spend the whole next year without worries and not think about bad things, the day of spring balance should be celebrated cheerfully. People believe that a wish made on this day will definitely come true.

On the day of the vernal equinox, they are guessing for love - they are guessing with Tarot cards, classic cards, runes, oracles. And in order to get an accurate answer, at the moment of fortune-telling, you should focus and ask a specific question. Since the holiday was preceded by Maslenitsa (in 2017, from 20 to 26 February inclusive), many girls use similar fortune-telling. So, for example, pancakes were also baked on this day, and if the first pancake was not lumpy, then they believed that they would get married this year. On the spring equinox, the girls wondered about the sex of the first child, for this they watched who would take the first pancake from the festive table. If a man, then a boy was expected, and if a woman - a girl.

People considered dreams on the vernal equinox to be prophetic, so the girls wondered about their husband before going to bed. To do this, two aces were placed under the pillow - a spades and a diamonds, as well as a ten of clubs, a ring, a key and a piece of pie, having previously wrapped all the items in a white scarf.

The next morning they judged the future, depending on what they dreamed of: a ring for an imminent wedding, a key or bread - to success in work, a pie - to luck and joy, a card of spades - to trouble, a card of diamonds - to wealth, club - to move.

The spring equinox is a magical period, a time for the manifestation of feelings, and if you have long wanted to confess your feelings to your loved one, this should be done on this day.

The night of December 21-22 will be the longest in 2018 in the entire northern hemisphere. This phenomenon occurs for the reason that it is at this time that the tilt of the Earth's axis of rotation relative to the Sun becomes greatest. In the calendar, this date is called the Winter Solstice.

The exact date and time of the winter solstice in 2018:

• GMT - December 21 22 hours 23 minutes GMT
• Kiev time - December 22 at 00 hours 23 minutes
• Moscow time - December 22 at 01 hour 23 minutes

December 21 and 22 are the most short days years, and between them the most long night a year. In the Southern Hemisphere, an astronomical summer will begin at the winter solstice. In astrology, the winter solstice is the moment when the Sun passes into the constellation Capricorn and the beginning of the astronomical winter, which will last right up to the vernal equinox.

• Video: Solstice and Equinox

The sun affects the earth. The fiery planet emits streams of light, and since our planet rotates on its axis, it turns out day and night.

• The fiery planet brings heat to the Earth, which, as a result of the movement of our planet around the celestial body, causes the change of seasons.
• The equinox and solstice days speak of astronomical seasonality.
• What days are these and when do they come? How does the day decrease and increase during these periods? You will find answers to these and other questions in this article.

What are the days of the vernal and autumnal equinox: definition

Summer solstice

Equinox is an astronomical event. During such a period, the Fiery Planet passes through the celestial equator. If you observe from a cosmic distance, then these days the line of light separation (terminator) goes clearly along the poles and it is located perpendicular to the earth's equator.

• A day like this is a unique natural manifestation.... Center solar planet crosses the equator in the sky.
• On this day, our planet is tilted in such a way that the flow of rays goes directly towards the equator... The sun moves from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern. Day is equal to night in almost the entire territory of the Earth.
• On the day of the autumnal equinox, the Sun moves from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern... Accordingly, in this hemisphere, March 21 is the autumn equinox, and September 23 is the spring one.
• The time period between two identical equinoxes is called a tropical year and is equal to 365.2422 days.

Due to the fact that the value is inaccurate, but approximate, the equality between day and night each year falls on a different time of day, moving 6 hours ahead. After 4 years, 1 day is added and this year is called a leap year.

The position of the sun on the days of the equinox

The days of the equinox are a kind of limit for the movement of the Fiery Planet from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere - in autumn, and vice versa in spring. This is typical for the territory of our planet, which is located above the equatorial zone. These days, the celestial Luminary rises clearly in the east and hides behind the horizon in the west. This will be the position of the "bright" planet on days when day and night are compared in their time - in autumn and spring.

But such a phenomenon will definitely be observed on the territory in the region of 23.5 ° north or south latitude. In other areas, there may be little movement towards the north or south.

Spring equinox day in 2018: date, day length

The vernal equinox is an important period in the annual seasonality.

• This day is considered the beginning of the astronomical spring. Our ancestors and modern people are looking forward to this period - warm days come after winter and cold weather, and daylight hours now begin to "add".
• This date is not considered to be fixed, and every 365 days it can be in a different time period.
• The vernal equinox in 2018 is March 20.

At this time, daylight hours are equal to dark ones. Then every day it begins to increase by 1 minute, and during the summer solstice, the day will be the longest in the year.

Autumn equinox day in 2018: date, day length

In the period of the autumnal equinox, the astronomical autumn begins.

On the day of the autumnal equinox, the second time a year, when day is equal to night.

What are the days of the summer and winter solstices: definition

Solstice - translated from Latin "Solstitium" means "The sun has stopped".

June 20th or 21st the inclination of the axis of rotation of our planet from the North Pole in relation to the Sun has the smallest value.

December - 21st and 22nd, The sun in the Northern Hemisphere shines on the Southern Tropic.

• In this case, the axis of rotation of our planet from the North Pole in the direction from the Sun takes on the greatest value.
• On this day in the Northern Hemisphere, the shortest day and the longest night is the winter solstice.
• In the Southern Hemisphere, on the contrary, it is the summer solstice.
• Due to the shift in leap years, the solstice days may be different, but this difference is no more than 1 day.

The position of the sun on the days of the solstice

The periods between two solstices are the times when the sun shifts to the side above the horizon and below this line. The movement of the celestial body is similar in trajectory to a sinusoid. In winter it sinks lower, in summer it rises higher. The angle between the sun and the horizon on our planet is:

• June - 90 degrees
• December - 270 degrees

A couple of days before and after the solstice period, the celestial Luminary “freezes” at one point at 12 noon. But you cannot observe it directly overhead. You need to go above the equator by 23.5 degrees in summer and similarly to 23.5 degrees south latitude in winter. This way you will see the Sun directly vertical above you.

Summer solstice date 2018: day length, shortest night

The summer solstice date is the time when the Sun rises at its highest. In 2018, this date falls on June 21st. This period is the longest day and the shortest night of the year.

Winter solstice date 2018: day length, shortest day

The ancient Slavs called this day the Day of Renewal and the Birth of the Sun. Some nations even celebrated the New Year on the winter solstice. Winter solstice date in 2018: December 21. During this period, the longest night and the shortest day.

How the day decreases after the summer solstice: graph

Decrease in day after the summer solstice

As mentioned above, there is a decrease in the day after the summer solstice period by 1 minute every day. Above on the graph you can see the length of the day in hours, it is indicated in green. Permanent day is shown in brown and night is white.

How the day after the winter solstice increases: graph

Analemma is a curved line in the form of a figure eight. It is written by the Sun in the sky during the calendar year. To draw such a curve, you need to fix the celestial body at the same time. Thanks to such an analemma, you can see how the Sun moves - rises and falls. After the winter solstice, the day increases by 1 minute every day.

Equinox and Solstice: Rites and Magic

Astrologers claim that the days of the solstices are the most dangerous period of the year. The energy of these days is weakened and can affect the inner state of a person. But folk signs say the opposite. The days of the equinox are not so difficult, but they also have magical powers.

Thanks to magical rites, you can strengthen your energy and avoid the negative influence of the solar planet during these difficult periods. Meet this magical period in a good mood, so as not to enhance the already complex energy of such days. No one should disturb the inner state of a person, even such changes in nature as the equinox and solstice.

When is the autumnal equinox in 2018 / 1zoom.ru

Those days when the day is equal to the night are called the day of the equinox - spring or autumn. We will meet the autumnal equinox this week.

Autumn equinox-2018: when - what date and what time

In 2018, the autumnal equinox fell on September 23rd. It will start at 4:54 Kiev time.

On the same date, the autumnal equinox falls in 2019 (at 9:50 am Kiev time). But in 2020 - on September 22 (15:31 Kiev time).

Autumn equinox: signs

This day is considered the beginning of a real, "golden" autumn. By folk signswhat the weather will be like on this day, it is worth waiting for such weather for the rest of autumn.

Autumn equinox day among the Slavs

It was a time for our ancestors to take stock and celebrate the harvest. Thanks were raised to the gods for a successful year and a rich harvest, and they also asked for intercession for the coming winter.

During this period, they were stocked with forest mushrooms and medicinal herbs for the winter.

Autumn equinox: rituals

Some rituals of the ancient Slavs may well be repeated in our time. For example, a ceremony for the prosperity of a family: apples of a new harvest (preferably from their own garden, but purchased ones are also suitable) - there should be the same number of members in the family - each family member must hold in his hand. Then, the fruits saturated with the energy of each family member are put on a dish and put on the table. In the evening, a candle is lit, the names of all family members are repeated. Then you need to focus on apples, representing concerns that disturb the person, and pronounce the conspiracy: "Bulk apples, warmed by the Sun, grown by the power of the Earth, plucked in the fall, completing the year. Each apple takes adversity, prosperity attracts to the family. We (names) will be lucky, but adversity will bypass."... After that, the apples are eaten by each of the family members, and the stubs are thrown away as far from the house as possible.

The equinox ... happens twice a year, namely, at the intersection of the equinox, the equinox (equator) by the sun path: the vernal equinox occurs on March 9; autumn - September 10. Equinox circle, the same, 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 near the east, sunset - west

Day of spring equinox - this is day when spring comes, according to the majority of the inhabitants of planet Earth.
Indeed, it is customary all over the world to read that on the day of the vernal equinox an astronomical spring comes in the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth, in the southern - autumn, well, and most of mankind still lives in the Northern Hemisphere ...
That is why the northerners are looking forward to the spring equinox, because spring comes with it and begins to warm!
Associated with the Day of the Equinox 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 vernal equinox. For example, at the latitude of Moscow, the duration of the day usually begins to exceed the duration of the night from March 18.
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 leveled out to the greatest extent across the globeat.
It was this feature that was taken as fundamental for the name of the event: Equal day throughout the Earth \u003d Equinox - this sounds unifying and in fact more true, in contrast to the twilight Western: "Equinox"(literally from Latin" equal to the night " - this is where the roots of the universal centuries-old delusion are!).

How is the Day of the Spring Equinox "appointed" and what is the Equinox?

Within the framework of modern astronomical science, the most obvious definition for an earthly observer has been adopted: The exact date of the intersection of the center of the Sun with the celestial equator is called the moment of equinox. From the point of view of a space observer at the moment of equinox, the inclination 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 (ecliptic coordinates 0 °, 0 °; equatorial 00h00m00s, 0 °; currently in the constellation)

The point of the orbit in which the Earth is located at the time of the vernal equinox is called orbital point of the vernal equinox .

The day of the Spring Equinox is the day on the date of which the moment of the spring equinox falls.

In 2020, on the territory of Russia, the Day of the Spring Equinox, the whole country celebrates the day of the vernal equinox on March 20, since Moscow time the sun will pass the vernal equinox point on 03/20/2019 06:50 msk.

Scheme 1. Planet Earth at the orbital point of the vernal equinox, the ecliptic plane 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

To enlarge the image and see explanations, click on it ...

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 sun).

Vernal Equinox Events

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 Spring Equinox in Central Russia in a leap year and the two following years is usually March 20, the year preceding the leap year - March 21.

Year		Year	Vernal Equinox Date (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
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In 2020, the Earth will be at the vernal equinox 20 March 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 zodiacal position, the Sun will move to zodiac sign aries.
3. Length of day 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, and will come almost exactly on west (Fig. 1).
6. Having measured the angle of the maximum elevation of the Sun h sun(Fig. 1), you can determine the latitude of the area 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 be equal to the night ( in Germany, for example, a day is specially marked as Equilux ), and the polar day will come beyond the Arctic circle

On the morning of this day, at clear dawn, at Stonehenge, a ray of sun will touch the stone mark of the vernal equinox, just like in other ancient structures designed to ensure the calendar of time.

Customs and traditions associated with the vernal equinox

In pre-revolutionary Russia of the 18-19 centuries, the vernal equinox day fell on March 9 (according to the old style), on this day they celebrated the Forty Soroks (Magpies), baked larks - 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 (Japanese 春分 の 日 Shumbun no hi) and an official day off.
In Iran and India, countries where Zoroastrianism assumed the status of official status, they celebrate on the day of the vernal equinox New Year... And in those territories where the descendants of the peoples inhabiting ancient Persia settled, Novruz is celebrated - a holiday that has been carefully preserved by the people for more than one millennium.
In Europe, all kinds of spring fairs and festivals are timed to coincide with this day, but stable traditions have not yet developed.

Unfortunately, nothing can be reliably said about the Old Slavic celebrations on the eve of the spring equinox - practically nothing has survived from the pagan mythology of Russia to this day.
True, you don't need to have 100 spans in your forehead to guess that the "holiday of the Sun" is our Russian Maslenitsa, which is now tied to the Cheese Week, before the "baptism with fire and sword" was celebrated on the Day of the Spring Equinox.

Proverbs and sayings associated with the vernal equinox

"On Magpies, day and night are measured."
"Equinox seems to be light in spring, twilight in autumn."

Orbital point of the vernal equinox of the Earth

By definition, the equinox is a moment that is rather difficult to practically establish with great accuracy (and, as a consequence, expensive), therefore it is determined by calculation, and refinement measurements are taken directly at the equinox.
When calculating, you can use the following signs of the vernal 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 \u003d 90 ° - 23.44 ° \u003d 66.56 °,
- the line of intersection of the equatorial plane with the ecliptic plane coincides with the line connecting the center of the Sun and the center of the Earth (towards 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 indeed the case - the Earth's orbit is currently stretched towards the summer solstice point.
As a result, the time interval from the moment of the vernal equinox to the autumn is more than from the autumn equinox to the spring by 7 days 13 hours 21 minutes (March 2020 - September 2020 interval of 186.4 days and September 2020 - March 2021 interval of 178.84 days). The average difference of the equinox intervals over this century is 7 days. 13h 37m

The vernal equinox
Observation from Earth

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, you can easily determine the latitude of the area φ \u003d 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

Legend:
B 2 B 1 - the line connecting the center of the Sun and the center of the Earth - direction to the Sun;
S spring is the orbital point of the vernal equinox at this moment coincides with the center of the Earth;
S spring N - line of the earth's axis;
∠CS spring N - angle of inclination of the earth's axis ε \u003d 23.44 ° (23.4392811 ° ± 0.0047222 °);
∠CS spring O - 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 (Sun 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 to the Sun

Sergey Ov (Seosnews9)

id \u003d "seasons"\u003e

1. Equinox- the moment in time at which the center of the solar disk, with its apparent annual movement along the ecliptic, crosses the celestial equator. On the days of the equinox, the length of the day on the entire Earth, excluding the regions of the earth's poles, is almost equal to the duration of the night, differing from 12 hours by only a few minutes due to refraction and the significant value of the angular diameter of the Sun. The point at which the center of the Sun crosses the equator when moving from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern is called the vernal equinox, the opposite is the vernal equinox.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd ed. 1969 - 1978

2. Celestial equator - the great circle of the celestial sphere, the plane of which is perpendicular to the axis of the world, is the 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 poles of the world. The constellations onto which the celestial equator is projected are called equatorial.

3. Ecliptic - trajectories of the Sun's annual movement visible from the Earth. The plane of the ecliptic coincides with the plane of the Earth's orbit