March equinox 2015: Spring begins in Northern Hemisphere on March 20

Spring has officially begun in the Northern Hemisphere with the vernal equinox on Friday, March 20.

The March equinox occurs when the Sun crosses the celestial equator on its way north along the ecliptic. In the Northern Hemisphere, the March equinox is known as the vernal, or spring, equinox, and marks the start of the spring season.

In the Southern Hemisphere, this equinox is known as the autumnal, or fall, equinox and marks the start of the fall season. The vernal equinox for the Southern Hemisphere occurs in September.

The March equinox happens at the same moment across the world but is converted to local time. In 2015, it falls on March 20 at 6:45 P.M. EDT, 5:45 P.M. CDT, 4:45 P.M. MDT, and 3:45 P.M. PDT.

In 2015, the spring equinox has the unusual distinction of coinciding with both a supermoon and a total solar eclipse. According to timeanddate.com, there hasn’t been a solar eclipse on either the March or September equinox since 1662.

tKWeFRQWXh0

James J. Williams

James is a professor in Science. His writing skills brought him to BelleNews. He enjoys writing articles for the Science and Technology category. James often finds himself reading about the latest gadgets as the topic is very appealing to him. He likes reading and listening to classical music.