Equinox vs Equilux

The March Equinox, also known as the Spring Equinox arrives on Thursday when the Sun is directly over the equator. This will happen at 2020-03-20 03:49:32 UTC at a point in the Gorontalo Sea, south of the Indonesian Peninsula of Sulawesi.

This marks the beginning of astronomical Spring (meteorological Spring began March 1 and better aligns to the changing temperatures we normally see this time of year).

It also marks the date when the sunrise is closest to due East, less than a quarter of a degree off this year.

The day when we receive the closest to 12 hours the equilux, falls a few days before the equinox. The atmosphere refracts the sunlight, bending it from below the horizon up to our eyes.

We actually see sunrises several seconds before the Sun is physically above the horizon and continue to see after it has physically set. This adds to the amount of time the Sun above the horizon, pushing that equilux date back.

Here in Raleigh, Monday was our equilux day, with the Sun just a few seconds away from being above the horizon for exactly 12 hours.

We have been gaining more than two minutes of daylight each day since mid February. While the hours of daylight will continue to increase until the June Solstice, the pace at which those minutes of added daylight, currently 2 minutes 16 seconds daily, begins to slow.