Home > Ephemeris Program, Seasons > Ephemeris: 03/19/2024 – Today is the last day of winter and the first night of spring

Ephemeris: 03/19/2024 – Today is the last day of winter and the first night of spring

March 19, 2024

This is Ephemeris for Tuesday, March 19th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 8 minutes, setting at 7:54, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:44. The Moon, 2 days past first quarter, will set at 6:13 tomorrow morning.

Today, at least in daylight, is the last day of winter. Tonight will be the first night of spring, since spring will arrive at 11:07 pm tonight. This is when the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading northward in the sky, which is actually the Sun moving so it passes overhead and moving north of the equator on the Earth. This gives us in the Northern Hemisphere longer days and warmer temperatures. We call it the vernal or spring equinox. However since some folks are living south of the equator, and are starting autumn at the same time. We sometimes call it the March equinox to recognize that fact. From now until June 20th the Sun will be moving higher in our sky and be staying out longer each day.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

On the equinoxes, both the vernal and the autumnal equinox, the Sun rises due east and sets due west. Even though the word equinox means equal night, the definition of sunrise and sunset and the fact that we have atmospheric refraction keeps the Sun up more than 12 hours on that day by a few minutes. The altitude of the Sun above the southern horizon at local noon is 90° minus one’s latitude. Created using my LookingUp app.
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