Here, the 2022 March equinox occurred on March 21 at 02:33 (2:33 am) AEDT. Take the case of Sydney, Australia, which is 11 hours ahead of UTC in March. ![]() ![]() The equinox dates for these years do not change for locations observing a local time equivalent to UTC, but for locations that are ahead and behind UTC, this 6-hour difference (18 hours in a leap year) means a potential change in its date. For 20, both common years, the gap between each equinox is about 6 hours again. The March equinox will happen at 03:06 UTC, about 18 hours before the time of the equinox in 2023. The 2023 equinox will take place at 21:24 UTC, about 6 hours later than in the previous year. Here's an example that will make this clearer: the 2022 March equinox occurred on March 20 at 15:33 UTC. This is why the date of the equinox can change from year to year. This means that each March equinox occurs about 6 hours later than the previous year's March equinox. The Gregorian Calendar accounts for this by adding an extra day-the leap day-almost every 4 years. It takes the Earth about 365.25 days on average to go around the Sun once. The March equinox would occur on the same day every year if the Earth took exactly 365 days to make a complete revolution around the Sun. Times and dates for March equinox Why Do the Dates Change? Year In locations that are ahead of UTC, the March equinoxes this century will fall on March 19, 20, or 21. This will be the earliest spring equinox in the country since 1896. In 2024, the March equinox will fall on March 19 in all time zones in the United States. In the same period, the years between the leap years will see a March 20 equinox. While locations following UTC have seen a March 21 Equinox in 20, there is no March 21 equinox in mainland US in the 21st century!īetween 20, March 19 equinoxes will happen every leap year in Central, Pacific, and Mountain time zones in the United States. Take the example of mainland United States. It will happen again in 2101.ĭue to time zone differences, the equinox may occur a day earlier at locations that are behind UTC. The last time the March equinox was on March 21 (in UTC) was in 2007. The March equinox can happen on March 19, 20, or 21. In reality, however, it occurs at a specific moment in time and its date at any given location is determined by the exact instant when the Sun is overhead the equator.ġ0 facts about the March equinox Varying Equinox Dates Many people around the world celebrate the whole day, usually March 21, as the March equinox. In any given calendar year, this happens twice, first around March 20 ( March equinox) and then again around September 22 ( September equinox). In technical terms, this means that at the instant of the equinox, the Earth's celestial equator, which is the equator's imaginary projection into space, intersects with the center of the Sun. When is this year's March equinox? Sun Directly Above the EquatorĪn equinox is the exact instant when the Sun is directly overhead the equator and the Earth's rotational axis is tilted neither towards nor away from the Sun. Due to time zone differences, the equinox may occur a day later in locations ahead of UTC and a day earlier in locations behind UTC. Note: All dates and times in this article refer to the equinox in UTC time, unless otherwise stated. Spring or March equinox? The March equinox is the vernal (spring) equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, but the autumnal (fall) equinox in the Southern Hemisphere. Business Date to Date (exclude holidays).
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