Spring Equinox 2021 春分 Chūnfēn

Spring Equinox – Vernal Equinox

The Vernal (Spring) Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere is the Autumnal (Fall) Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. On the equinoxes the Sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night is nearly equal – but not quite.

The March equinox marks the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator – from south to north and vice versa in September.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Vernal (Spring) Equinox marks the first day of astronomical spring. There's also another, more common definition of when the seasons start, namely meteorological definitions, which are based on average temperatures rather that astronomical events.

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