Today marks the beginning of astronomical spring, the vernal equinox. Levon Azizyan, director of the Center for Hydrometeorology and Monitoring, wrote about this on his Facebook page.

“Today at 18:46 Yerevan time, the Sun will pass from the southern hemisphere of the sky to the northern hemisphere, which will be the beginning of astronomical spring.

What is the vernal equinox?

The vernal equinox is one of the most interesting astronomical phenomena. It is considered that day and night are equal on that day, regardless of geographical latitude. However, this is not actually the case, due to a phenomenon called refraction.

Starting from March 20, the seasons in the hemispheres “change places”. Astronomical Spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere, and Astronomical Autumn begins in the Southern Hemisphere. Astronomical spring continues until the summer solstice, which occurs on June 21.

The calculation of Easter, the day of the miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ, one of our favorite moving church holidays, is tied to the vernal equinox. “Each year, Easter is the Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox, and this year it will be celebrated on April 5,” he wrote.

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