In the North, which is where most of you readers are, it is the first day of Spring, the Vernal Equinox, today. We are interested in this day in particular because we date Easter as the 1) first Sunday 2) after the first full Moon 3) on or after the Vernal Equinox.
An equinox (twice a year, in the Spring or in the Fall) is the exact moment when the plane of your planet’s equator passes through the geometric center of your yellow star’s disk. The Sun’s “equator” is lined up with the Earth’s equator.
Aequinoctium in from aequus (equal) and nox (night). At an equinox, daytime and nighttime are of approximately equal length.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the March equinox is called the vernal or spring equinox while the September equinox is called the autumnal or fall equinox. In the Southern Hemisphere, the reverse is true. The dates slightly vary due to leap years and other factors.
In the Roman Curia calendar, which I wrote about yesterday, I read that the Equinox occurred at 0937 UTC.
And the “Ave Maria” changed to 18:45!
In other news, in the far North watch for Aurora Borealis this weekend. Check SpaceWeather.