Vernal Equinox 2012: First-Day-of-Spring Myth Busted
Are day and night equally long today, the 2012 vernal equinox (or spring equinox)? Get the answer—and other first-day-of-spring facts and oddities.
But don't be fooled by the old rumor that on the spring equinox the length of day is exactly equal to the length of night.
The true days of day-night equality always fall before the vernal equinox and after the autumnal, or fall, equinox, according to Geoff Chester, a public affairs specialist with the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.
"Exactly when it happens depends on where you are located on the surface of the Earth," he said.
By the time the center of the sun passes over the Equator—the official definition of equinox—the day will be slightly longer than the night everywhere on Earth. The difference is a matter of geometry, atmosphere, and language.
(Video: How an Equinox Works.)
If the sun
