First Day of Spring

Winter is officially over. Today is the first day of spring! This day is also known as the vernal equinox. Many people believe that this is the day when daylight and nighttime hours are equally long, but is that really true? According to Geoff Chester, a public affairs specialist with Washington, D.C.’s U.S. Naval Observatory, the hours are equal before the equinox, although “exactly when it happens depends on where you are located on the surface of the Earth,” he said.

Learn more about the equinox on National Geographic News.

See pictures of flowers in bloom on National Geographic Kids.

Photograph by Mario Guzmán, European Pressphoto Agency