AS THE days began to get slightly longer, many of us had been wondering when we could finally herald the arrival of spring.
March 20 marked the Spring Equinox - but does this mean winter has officially finished and is it the same thing as the Vernal Equinox? Here's what you need to know...
Getty Images Are you craving warmer temperatures? Weather will take a turn for the better now...
When is the Spring Equinox?
Good news for those counting down the days until warmer weather - the 2018 spring equinox is here!
This is the time when the sun passes the celestial equator and days become longer - no more going to work in pitch darkness.
For some March 20 marks the first official day of spring - but meteorologists argue that it's actually March 1.
The Met Office tend to use the meteorological seasons, these are based on the annual temperature cycle and the state of the atmosphere.
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What is the Vernal Equinox?
The Vernal Equinox is another name given to the Spring Equinox and labels the March Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the March Equinox is called the Autumnal Equinox.
In September the equinoxes are labelled vice versa – the Northern Hemisphere experiencing an Autumnal Equinox and the Southern Hemisphere having their Vernal Equinox.
The equinox marks the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator.
It is at this time that the Northern Hemisphere marks the first day of astronomical spring.
Getty Images The Spring Equinox finally came after months of winter
When date does the Vernal Equinox fall on in March?
The 2018 Vernal Equinox, is the same thing as the Spring Equinox and falls on March 20.
The different seasons are caused by the Earth rotating around the Sun.
The way the Earth rotates means that certain areas of the globe are tilted towards the Sun while other parts are tilted away from it.
This means there are different levels of sunlight reaching each part of the globe, causing the seasons.
What is the Vernal Equinox?
The Vernal Equinox is another name given to the Spring Equinox which is also known as the March Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and in the Southern Hemisphere it is referred to as the Autumnal Equinox.
In September when there is another Equinox, the Northern Hemisphere experiences an Autumnal Equinox and the Southern Hemisphere has their Vernal Equinox.
The Vernal Equinox occurs as the sun passes over the equator from Earth’s perspective and the Northern Hemisphere begins to tilt towards the sun, which leads to longer day in the north and shorter days in the south.
The next big event for the Northern Hemisphere is the summer solstice on June 21 - the longest day of the year, when Earth’s northern hemisphere is most directly tilted toward the sun.
A photo of Earth posing shortly before the sun crossed the equator
The image above shows what the Spring Equinox looked like from space on Earth.
NWS tweeted "Welcome to Spring 2018! Here's a photo of Earth posing shortly before the sun crossed the equator this morning"
For most people, the equinox simply heralds a changing of the seasons. But for ancient cultures, equinoxes were something more of a time for celebration.
Even Google updated the doodle on its homepage when the equinox officially happened just after noon on Tuesday 20th. The doodle featured Google's season protagonist Quinn playing music to enchant a creature out of the flowers.
Equinoxes happen twice per year (the vernal and autumnal equinox) when the sun crosses over the equator
The word "vernal” comes from the Latin word for spring, while equinox means "equal night” as both night and day last for an equal amount of time.
The Spring Equinox and the Autumn Equinox take place in March and September respectively.
They are followed by the Winter Solstice in December and the Summer Solstice in June.
Google has celebrated the beginning of Spring with an animated Doodle, showing the seasonal Doodle series protagonist Quinn. The Google Doodle for March 21, 2018 celebrates the Spring Equinox - the first day of spring for those living in the Northern Hemisphere. The Spring Equinox was officially observed on March 20 at exactly 4.15pm GMT when the sun crossed over the equator to signal the start of spring. Google has marked the occasion today with an animated image of what appears to be a flower fairy paying a music perched on rock surrounded by the first flowers of the season.
The flowers part to reveal a pair of eyes which then start to sway in time to the music. “This year’s seasonal Doodle series protagonist, Quinn, is strumming a pleasant tune to coax a mysterious creature out of hiding. With a mild breeze and beautiful flowers, would it be, could it be, spring?”, Google asks on the Google Doodle blog. The Doodle was designed by doodler Sophie Diao and as Google explains the term Spring Equinox comes from the Latin combination of equi, meaning equal, and nox for night. The Spring Equinox marks a 24-hour period on Earth when day and night are almost exactly equal lengths of 12 hours because the earth’s axis is perpendicular to the sun’s rays.
Google Spring Equinox 2018: Google marks Spring Equinox with animated Doodle
The best Google Doodle designs Wed, March 14, 2018 Google Doodle is a temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepage which honours holidays, events and people. Play slideshow Google 1 of 23 Google Doodle celebrates the 30th anniversary of Pi Day, a day for celebrating the mathematical constant
Countries in the Northern Hemisphere are currently seeing Google’s Spring Equinox doodle, but the Google home pages in the Southern Hemisphere are seeing a Fall Equinox doodle, which marks the first day of autumn for countries below the equator. There are two equinoxes every year - in March and September. The dates for the equinoxes are not fixed as the Earth’s orbit around the Sun takes the Earth an average of 365.25 days instead of 365.
Google Spring Equinox 2018: Early concept drawings of the Google Doodle
