First day of spring 2022

2022 - 3 - 20

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Washington Post"

Sunday marks the spring equinox and signals longer, warmer days ... (The Washington Post)

The equinox arrives at 11:33 a.m. Eastern time, but we'll actually have more than 12 hours of daylight. Here's why.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the spring equinox marks the time of year when we gain the greatest amount of daylight. For most of the country, this spring may end up on the warm side. Daylight on the equinox therefore varies, from 12 hours 6 minutes near the equator to about 12 hours 20 minutes in Earth’s polar regions. As you get closer to the equator, the increase is less dramatic: Miami and Houston, for example, gain less than two minutes per day. “Because we’re taking the first-up, last-down approach to defining day length, rather than tracking when a single point on the sun is above the horizon, our day is a couple of minutes longer than 12 hours.” These two factors — how we measure the length of day and atmospheric refraction — add about 10 minutes of daylight to the equinox, depending on where you live. The amount of refraction depends on atmospheric pressure and temperature. For areas north of about 37°N, today is the equilux. A common misconception about the equinoxes is that everyone sees exactly 12 hours of daylight. The equilux is the date that is closest to having exactly 12 hours of daylight. In most of the Lower 48, the equilux happens a few days before the spring equinox, usually around March 16 or 17. Most places on Earth, apart from the polar regions, also see the sun rise due east and set due west along the horizon.

Spring has sprung: Explaining the science behind the vernal equinox (New York Post)

Astronomical seasons are based on the position of the Earth with respect to the sun as the planet makes its annual revolution around this closest star.

In the winter, the sunrise is in the southeastern sky and the sunset is in the southwestern sky – a much shorter path across the Northern Hemisphere sky – so days are short and nights are long. Therefore, everywhere on Earth experiences an equal 12 hours of day and night because the sun rises due east and sets due west. In the summer, the sun rises in the northeastern sky and sets in the northwestern sky, providing long days and short nights. The solar-noon sun angle is the lowest and farthest south in the sky on the winter solstice. The sun reaches its highest and northernmost point in the sky at solar noon (around 1 p.m. local time due to daylight saving time) on the summer solstice. In 2022, that occurs March 20 at 11:33 a.m. Eastern time.

When do the clocks go forward 2022 and when is the first day of ... (WalesOnline)

Daffodils are blooming, the weather is warmer and the evenings lighter, which can only mean one thing – spring has officially sprung. The arrival of March ...

This is due to the 23.5 degrees of tilt of the Earth's rotational axis concerning its orbit around the Sun. Since the seasons vary in length, the start date of a new season can fall on different days each year." The first day of spring depends on whether you are referring to the astronomical or meteorological spring. For the latter it depends on whether you're referring to the astronomical or meteorological spring.

First day of spring 2022 - what is the spring equinox and when do ... (Blackpool Gazette)

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In 2019, the European parliament voted to scrap Daylight Saving Time altogether. It was created following a campaign led by British builder, William Willett, in 1907, with the Summer Time Act of 1916. And don’t get us started on remembering how to use that oven clock.

When is the first day of Spring 2022 and when is the first day of Autumn 2022? (unknown)

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These seasons are split to coincide with our Gregorian calendar, making it easier for meteorological observing and forecasting to compare seasonal and monthly statistics. It is the only time when the Northern and Southern hemispheres experience roughly equal amounts of daylight. The first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere is marked on the Vernal Equinox which is Sunday, March 20 in 2022.

When does spring 2022 start? Twelve hours of daylight returned today with the spring equinox (unknown)

The spring equinox – which marks the beginning of astronomical spring in the Northern Hemisphere – will occur on Sunday, March 20, at 11:33 a.m. EDT.

And for the folks down under in the Southern Hemisphere, it's the autumnal equinox this Sunday, marking the first day of autumn. Each day for the next three months, the sun will get higher in the sky – and the daily amount of daylight longer – until the summer solstice in June. At long last, spring 2022 is finally here.

Spring equinox 2022: At last! The first day of spring (unknown)

By Forrest Brown, CNN. Few of us will ever have a way with words as Emily Dickinson, the Belle of Amherst, did: A Light exists in Spring

So, the first day of the year always kicks off with the vernal equinox. That’s why the sun never sets at all in the Arctic Circle during the time around the summer solstice. EarthSky says the equinox is “a good day for finding east and west from your yard or other favorite site for watching the sky. And the effect is more dramatic the farther you get from the equator. It’s no coincidence it falls on the first day of spring. If you’re a sky watcher, the website EarthSky points out the equinoxes — spring or autumn — are a superb time to orient yourself. How does that happen when it’s supposed to be 12 hours of day and 12 hours night? That positions one hemisphere of the planet to get more sunlight than the other for half of the year’s orbit around the sun. Folks in the Northern Hemisphere are looking forward to longer days, warmer weather, flowers and a burst of greenery. (That’s why it stays dark for so long each day during the winter in places such as Scandinavia and Alaska.) Going forward, the Northern Hemisphere will be more exposed to the sun than the Southern Hemisphere. That’s why it gets increasingly hot as we head toward the summer solstice in June. They’re all signs that the spring equinox of 2022 is arriving.