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when the sun stands directly overhead as seen from Earth's equator.
• 2013 equinox: Sun rises due east and sets due west
• Everything you need to know: Vernal or spring equinox 2013
• A Chinese perspective on the spring equinox
• But, as always, our clocks will say different times. What this time means to us in the United States is that the equinox comes in early morning hours on March 20. It'll be only 4:02 a.m. PDT on the U.S. west coast - and 1:02 a.m. in Hawaii. Meanwhile, the spring equinox will happen at 7:02 a.m. EDT (around sunrise) according to clocks on the U.S. east coast. One event - different time zones and different times on the clock - when the sun crosses the celestial equator, bring this equinox to all of us around the globe.
• Once again, translating Universal Time to local time in U.S. time zones, that places the time of the equinox at 7:02 a.m. EDT, 6:02 a.m. CDT, 5:02 a.m. MDT or 4:02 a.m. PDT on Wednesday, March 20.
• How do I translate Universal Time into my time?
• This event - which happens before sunrise for most of us in the United States - marks the first day of spring or autumn, depending on your location north or south on Earth's globe. For the Northern Hemisphere, the March equinox marks the first day of spring. In the Southern Hemisphere, it signals the beginning of autumn.
• The March equinox happens when the sun crosses the celestial equator from south to north. The celestial equator is a projection of the Earth's equator onto the so-called celestial sphere.
• This intersection point is sometimes called the First Point in Aries. But at this March equinox and all of those in our lifetimes, it happens when the sun is in front of (Continued on page 13)
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