In spite of my assertion that Spring arrives today, Mother Nature continues to pummel us with Winter-like weather. This is Max doing some exploration while he and I worked our way out to the road after Thursday’s snow. Then, as if to slam-dunk the following postulate as ill-advised, we got treated to an additional 3 inches of snow yesterday. And so it goes.
SPRING BEGINS WHEN?—
When I posed this question recently at the local watering hole, everyone’s favorite answer was, “When the custard stand opens!”
So much for those scientific urges.
Actually, the astronomical answer is on that March day known as the Spring Equinox which is when the sun crosses the Equator on its annual “migration” northward and everywhere the days and nights are equal in length. “Equinox = equal nights”.
In our hemisphere and because the Earth is tilted 23.5 degrees on its axis in relation to the plane of our orbit around the sun, we watch our days get steadily longer from December to June and steadily shorter from June to December.
This year as the sun drifts our way that magic day occurs March 20th. Now, don’t expect your local hours of daylight chart to show exactly 12 hours of daylight and darkness on that day. There always will be a few minutes variation because this measurement is taken when the sun actually pierces the horizon and not everyone has an identical horizon to view.
Plus, the Earth’s atmosphere distorts those nifty sun beams—exactly the same phenomenon that gave us a reddish glow to the eclipsed Moon just a week or so ago.
However, I don’t fret much about such things. I think the meteorologists have a much tidier answer. Spring begins on March 1st and includes the months of April and May. Summer is then June through August. And so forth—the seasons being incrementally three months long year round.
SPRING BEGINS WHEN?—
When I posed this question recently at the local watering hole, everyone’s favorite answer was, “When the custard stand opens!”
So much for those scientific urges.
Actually, the astronomical answer is on that March day known as the Spring Equinox which is when the sun crosses the Equator on its annual “migration” northward and everywhere the days and nights are equal in length. “Equinox = equal nights”.
In our hemisphere and because the Earth is tilted 23.5 degrees on its axis in relation to the plane of our orbit around the sun, we watch our days get steadily longer from December to June and steadily shorter from June to December.
This year as the sun drifts our way that magic day occurs March 20th. Now, don’t expect your local hours of daylight chart to show exactly 12 hours of daylight and darkness on that day. There always will be a few minutes variation because this measurement is taken when the sun actually pierces the horizon and not everyone has an identical horizon to view.
Plus, the Earth’s atmosphere distorts those nifty sun beams—exactly the same phenomenon that gave us a reddish glow to the eclipsed Moon just a week or so ago.
However, I don’t fret much about such things. I think the meteorologists have a much tidier answer. Spring begins on March 1st and includes the months of April and May. Summer is then June through August. And so forth—the seasons being incrementally three months long year round.
Besides, who can ever fault Spring arriving several weeks early!
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