March 20 marks the Spring Equinox - but when is winter officially finished and is it the same thing as the Vernal Equinox? Here is the lowdown on this somewhat confusing time of year...
When is the Spring Equinox?
Good news for those counting down the days until warmer weather - the 2018 spring equinox is here!
This is the time when the sun passes the celestial equator and days become longer - no more going to work in pitch darkness.
For some March 20 marks the first official day of spring - but meteorologists argue that it's actually March 1.
The Met Office tend to use the meteorological seasons, these are based on the annual temperature cycle and the state of the atmosphere.
What is the Vernal Equinox?
The Vernal Equinox is another name given to the Spring Equinox and labels the March Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the March Equinox is called the Autumnal Equinox.
In September the equinoxes are labelled vice versa – the Northern Hemisphere experiencing an Autumnal Equinox and the Southern Hemisphere having their Vernal Equinox.
The equinox marks the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator.
It is at this time that the Northern Hemisphere marks the first day of astronomical spring.
When date does the Vernal Equinox fall on in March?
The 2018 Vernal Equinox, is the same thing as the Spring Equinox and falls on March 20.
The different seasons are caused by the Earth rotating around the Sun.
The way the Earth rotates means that certain areas of the globe are tilted towards the Sun while other parts are tilted away from it.
This means there are different levels of sunlight reaching each part of the globe, causing the seasons.
The Sun
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