Tuesday marked the astronomical first day of spring for those in the Northern Hemisphere. The exact time of the equinox, when the sun was directly over the equator, was 12:15 p.m. EDT.
The equinox marks the point in the year at which the Earth is as upright, and least tilted, as it will get. After spring equinox, the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth will begin to tilt in the direction of the sun.The summer solstice happens when the Earth reaches it's most drastic tilt in the direction of the sun. Then the Earth begins to lean back to upright before tilting into winter position.
Nearly equal hours of night and day will happen Tuesday. The name "equinox" is actually derived from the Latin words meaning equal and night, according to the National Weather Service.
Google updated the doodle on its homepage when the equinox officially happened just after noon on Tuesday. The doodle features Google's season protagonist Quinn, according to the description on Google's site. Quinn is pictured playing music to enchant a creature out of the flowers.
Though it may still be cold in many regions of the country, spring is officially on its way.
Here are nine quotes and sayings about the season to celebrate the equinox:
"Spring is nature's way of saying 'Let's party!'" - Robin Williams
"In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours," - Mark Twain
"Spring, thy name is color." - Libbie Fudim
"April hath put a spirit of youth in everything," - William Shakespeare
"Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the Earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love!" - Sitting Bull said at an Indian council in 1875.
"That is one good thing about this world...there are always sure to be more springs," - Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote in her book Anne of Avonlea.
"The ghostly winter silence had given way to the great spring murmur of awakening life. This murmur arose from all the land, fraught with the joy of living," - Jack London
"An optimist is the human personification of spring." - Susan J. Bissonette
"Yes, I deserve a spring–I owe nobody nothing," - Virginia Woolf
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Nina was a breaking news reporter. She previously worked at Business Insider, The Boston Globe, and Boston.com.
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