Spring is in the Sky!

As winter turns to spring, Orion's Belt turns horizontal as he sinks lower in the southwestern evening sky.

The Vernal Equinox, which marks the first day of Spring in the northern hemisphere, occurs at 6:44 a.m. CDT on Friday, March 20th, when the Sun crosses directly over the Earth's equator and night and day are nearly the same length in all parts of the Earth. After the Equinox, days will continue to grow longer until they reach a maximum at the Summer Solstice in June.

Early Egyptians built the Great Sphinx so that it points directly toward the rising Sun on the day of the vernal equinox. This day 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. Go here for a well-written article with lots of fascinating facts on the vernal equinox»