'Facts' About The Spring Equinox That Aren't All They're Cracked Up To Be

The spring equinox will mark the change of the seasons on Thursday, March 19. We should anticipate longer days and warmer weather coming along with it. However, the annual occurrence has cheated expectations by relying more on myth, instead of fact.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the spring equinox will take place on Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 11:49pm. At that moment, the sun crosses the imaginary line known as the celestial equator. Day and night are supposed to be nearly equal in length, according to TimeAndDate. We're meant to believe night and day on the equinox are 12 hours each. The math isn't "exactly accurate" because day and night aren't equal during the equinox.

Find out the difference between fact and fiction about the Spring Equinox:

Coronavirus Has Cancelled Spring Equinox

The ancient monument known as Stonehenge has been closed to the public. Crowds of travelers typically gather at Stonehenge to watch the sunrise during the equinox. During the sunrise celebration, people form a circle and hold hands. To prevent the spread of the virus, known as English Heritage, has cancelled the public event, per BBC.

The Name

If you really want to get scientific, it's officially called the vernal equinox. Spring starts in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn takes place across the Southern Hemisphere, according to Space.

8 Minutes

While this year's equinox will bring spring the earliest its arrived in 124 years, the idea that day and night are the same length on the day itself is actually wrong. Rejoice sunshine lovers, because you'll actually still get 8 minutes more of the day than you will the night.

The Force

Astronomer Bob Berman debunked the legend of the alignment between the Earth and the Moon. Don't expect the gravitational force to balance itself out. Berman explained to Accuweather, "Gravity doesn't change just because the Earth is sideways to the sun."

Two Springs

Whatever you do, don't confuse the astronomical spring with the meteorological spring.The astronomical spring measures the changing of the seasons. The meteorological spring already began on March 1.

The Egg Trick

Legend says a person is only able to balance a raw egg upright, during the equinox. John Millis, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Anderson University, explained how the myth came about to Almanac, "The origins of this myth are attributed to stories that the ancient Chinese would create displays of eggs standing on end during the first day of spring,"

Millis disproved the myth and said, "The ancient Chinese celebrated the first day of spring about six weeks earlier than the equinox."

Between you and me, you know you can balance an egg on a rough surface, right? You can actually do this on any other day of the week.

Know Your Latin

Equinox is the combination of two Latin words for. Aequus means equal and Nox stands for night. Put them together and you get, say it with me now, "equal night," as translated by Almanac. Equal night sounds like the cold medicine you would take to help you fall asleep.