Spring is sprung.

Today, Thursday 20th of March is a cathexic date in the astronomical calendar.

Today, the sun will rise directly in the east and set directly in the west. Everywhere on the Earth will experience 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness.

At 19:16 UT (GMT), the Vernal Equinox will officially mark the beginning of spring. The significance of the Vernal Equinox is that it is the point at which the sun crosses the celestial equator, moving northward. Night and day are nearly the same length and sun’s declination is 0 degrees as it crosses the celestial equator.

Originally, the right ascension at the vernal equinox was in the constellation Aries and the point of crossing which is still known as the first point in Aries. However, because of procession it is now actually in Pisces.

The good news for anyone at the North Pole is that for the first time in six months, you may get to see the sun, weather permitting.

This is supposed to be the time for equinoctial gales but the meteorological evidence for this is debatable.

Here in the UK the daffodils are in flower, which to me is always a sign that the dark dreary winter is at last coming to an end. It is also Easter weekend coming up, so a long weekend off work, time to start readying the boat for the coming season. Time to dream of those summer cruises.