March Equinox in Saint Kitts and Nevis ― Date, History, and Details
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History of March Equinox in Saint Kitts and Nevis and How to Celebrate/ Observe It
The March equinox occurs every year on the 20th or 21st of March and marks the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator – from south to north. This happens at the same time all over the world and night and day are of roughly equal length everywhere. From the northern hemisphere’s perspective, the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west on the equinox. In the southern hemisphere, the opposite is true. The word ‘equinox’ comes from the Latin for ‘equal night’.
Around the time of the equinox, the amount of daylight increases more quickly than at any other time of year. For a few days before and after the equinox, day and night are almost exactly the same length. This is because the Sun appears to move northwards along the ecliptic – the path it takes across the sky over the course of a year – at a faster rate around the time of the equinox. The ecliptic and the celestial equator intersect at two points known as the equinoxes.
On the March equinox, the Sun is directly overhead at noon at a point on the Earth’s equator. The Sun is also directly overhead at the September equinox, which occurs on the 22nd or 23rd of September. These are the only two times in the year when the Sun is directly overhead at the Earth’s equator.
In the northern hemisphere, the March equinox signals the start of spring. This is because, as the Sun moves northwards along the ecliptic, the amount of daylight increases and the weather starts to get warmer. In the southern hemisphere, the March equinox signals the start of autumn.