Many might have already celebrated the first day of Spring on September 1 but astronomically speaking, Spring Day is still on the way.
According to TimeandDate.com , the September 22 equinox marks the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator, the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator, from north to south. This moment will happen at 21:21 South African standard time on the day, officially ushering in the first day of spring.
As the sun continues to travel south of the equator, countries in the southern hemisphere will start experiencing warm days, which can result in more rainfall. It will also come with earlier sunrises along with later sunsets, thus, making the day time noticeably longer. Many believe that on this day, day and night are of equal length but not exactly, although very close to it.
The start of spring celebrated on September 1 is referred to as meteorological spring as it is based on average temperatures rather that astronomical events. While those in the southern hemisphere will be celebrating the start of spring, those north of the equator will start their entering autumn/fall.
There is another equinox that takes place in March which represents the start of astronomical autumn for the southern hemisphere and spring for the northern. The astronomical start of summer and winter happens during the solstices which take place in June and December. On the day of the solstices, the sun’s path in the sky is the farthest north or south from the Equator.
According to Britannica, during the summer solstice of December at this point, the South Pole is tilted closest to the sun, and the sun’s rays are directly overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn. This results in the southern hemisphere having its longest day of the year with the exact opposite happening during the winter solstice.
