Regarding The Equinox, I have a question Options

There is an off-chance this is kind of a neophyte question, but here goes. Um... the spiring equinox is on st. patrick's day. the 17th. What's up with that...?
Normally the equinox (doy) is on the 20th or 21st, sometimes 22nd, correct? Also, during the fall the autumn equinox was on the 25th, which means long summer short winter. Is there something a little skewy with this picture? Maybe I'm wrong and confused, but I'd like some light if anyone has any to shed. Thanks (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Upon further investigation, it was apparently exactly the same last year too. Maybe I'm just missing some smart-person thing here...

Greetings!

You were misinformed. Here are the cardinal date/times...
Vernal Equinox Mar 20 2008 05:48 (AM)GMT(Greenwich Mean Time)
Summer Solstice Jun 20 2008 23:59 (PM)GMT
Autumnal Equinox Sep 22 2008 15:44(PM) GMT
Winter Solstice Dec 21 2008 12:04(AM) GMT

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Okay, well here's the thing. Equinox being the day when night and day share the sky, yes? If you look up the times of sunrises and sunsets (here's a good site, if you don't have one: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=256) the 17th this month is when the day becomes longer than the night, and they're both about twelve hours long. By the 20th the day has already passed the night by quite a bit. Making sense at all?

Perhaps you are basing yours by something different. Can you expand on those dates at all? And thanks again.

The solstices and the equinoxes are astronomical events. Equinoxes are when the sun appears to move past the celestial equator. Solstices are when the sun hits either its maximum northern or southern points and begins to move in the opposite direction.

The reason the day and night aren't exactly equal on the equinoxes has to do with how the earth's atmosphere refracts (bends) light from the sun. At sunrise and sunset, the sun appears directly *on* the horizon when in reality it's slightly below it. That's why there are also three different twilights, but I digress...

Greetings!

It also has alot to do with your latitude. The closer you get to the poles, the 'wierder' the light cycle becomes..."in the land of the midnight sun..."
Here is the listing from your own site...
http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/custom...hol=377&moon=on

and here is another explanation...
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astronomy/VernalEquinox.html

Look, I do agree with you (in part)...we were always told that the equinox was the 'equalization' of day and night. Astronomy tells us a slightly different 'spin'. I will take it from the experts. I guess you'll do as you see fit.

i think the observation point for the 'standard' date is greenwich england? - that throws another spanner into the calculation

you could do your own date if you wanted that synced up with your location - sounds like fun even