Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/03/20
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]> in just couple minutes a new Persian year and spring starts > And happy new year to you and to everyone on the LUG! SPRING EQUINOX March 20, 1:32 P.M. Eastern Daylight Ttime (NYC) " The first day of spring also marks the beginning of Nowruz, the Persian New Year. The celebration lasts 13 days and is rooted in the 3,000-year-old tradition of Zorastrianism." " Far from being an arbitrary indicator of the changing seasons, March 20 (March 21 in some years) is significant for astronomical reasons. On March 20, 2010, at precisely 1:32 P.M. EDT (March 20, about 09:00 Universal Time), the Sun will cross directly over the Earth's equator. "that early Egyptians built the Great Sphinx so that it points directly toward the rising Sun on the day of the vernal equinox." Translated literally, equinox means "equal night." Because the sun is positioned above the equator, day and night are about equal in length all over the world during the equinoxes. A second equinox occurs each year on September 22 or 23; in 2010, it will be on September 22 at 11:09 P.M. EDT. This date will mark the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Southern (vernal denotes "spring"). SPRING EQUINOX March 20, 1:32 P.M. EDT SUMMER SOLSTICE June 21, 7:28 A.M. EDT FALL EQUINOX September 22, 11:09 P.M. EDT WINTER SOLSTICE December 21, 6:38 P.M. EST Here are the seasons of 2011: SPRING EQUINOX March 20, 7:21 P.M. EDT SUMMER SOLSTICE June 21, 1:16 P.M. EDT FALL EQUINOX September 23, 5:05 A.M. EDT WINTER SOLSTICE December 22, 12:30 A.M. EST " [Rabs] Mark William Rabiner