Overview
- The equinox occurs at 10:46 a.m. ET (14:46 UTC), marking the astronomical start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory.
- An equinox is when the Sun’s center crosses Earth’s equatorial plane, creating near-equal day and night, though exact equality varies by latitude due to the Sun’s apparent size and atmospheric refraction.
- From today, daylight increases daily until the June 21 summer solstice as the Sun’s path moves farther north.
- Meteorological spring began on March 1 for forecasters, and in the UK the true 12-hour split known as the equilux occurred on March 17–18 depending on location.
- Cultural and astrological observances coincide with this moment, including the Sun entering Aries, the astrological new year, and calendars that set dates such as Passover, Easter and Nowruz, while UK clocks move to British Summer Time on March 29.