vernal equinox
noun
See under equinox(def 1).
Also called vernal point.
the position of the sun at the time of the vernal equinox.
Origin of vernal equinox
First recorded in 1525–35
Words nearby vernal equinox
vernacular,
vernacularism,
vernacularize,
vernal,
vernal conjunctivitis,
vernal equinox,
vernal grass,
vernal pool,
vernalization,
vernalize,
vernation
Definition for vernal equinox (2 of 2)
equinox
[ ee-kwuh-noks, ek-wuh- ]
/ ˈi kwəˌnɒks, ˈɛk wə- /
noun
the time when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the earth and occurring about March 21 (vernal equinox or spring equinox) and September 22 (autumnal equinox).
either of the equinoctial points.
British Dictionary definitions for vernal equinox (1 of 2)
equinox
/ (ˈiːkwɪˌnɒks, ˈɛkwɪˌnɒks) /
noun
either of the two occasions, six months apart, when day and night are of equal length
See vernal equinox, autumnal equinox
another name for equinoctial point
Word Origin for equinox
C14: from Medieval Latin
equinoxium, changed from Latin
aequinoctium, from
aequi-
equi- +
nox night
British Dictionary definitions for vernal equinox (2 of 2)
vernal equinox
noun
the time at which the sun crosses the plane of the equator towards the relevant hemisphere, making day and night of equal length. It occurs about March 21 in the N hemisphere (Sept 23 in the S hemisphere)
- astronomy the point, lying in the constellation Pisces, at which the sun's ecliptic intersects the celestial equator
- the time at which this occurs as the sun travels south to north (March 21)
Scientific definitions for vernal equinox (1 of 2)
equinox
[ ē′kwə-nŏks′ ]
Either of the two points on the celestial sphere where the ecliptic (the apparent path of the Sun) crosses the celestial equator.♦ The point at which the Sun's path crosses the celestial equator moving from south to north is called the vernal equinox. The vernal equinox marks the zero point in both the equatorial and ecliptic coordinate systems; horizontal angular distances (right ascension in the equatorial system and celestial longitude in the ecliptic system) are measured eastward from this point. The vernal equinox is also known as the first point of Aries because when first devised some 2,000 years ago this point occurred at the beginning of Aries in the zodiac. Because of the westward precession of the equinoxes, the vernal equinox is now located at the beginning of Pisces.♦ The point at which the Sun's path crosses the celestial equator moving from north to south is called the autumnal equinox.
Either of the two corresponding moments of the year when the Sun is directly above the Earth's equator. The vernal equinox occurs on March 20 or 21 and the autumnal equinox on September 22 or 23, marking the beginning of spring and autumn, respectively, in the Northern Hemisphere (and the reverse in the Southern Hemisphere). The days on which an equinox falls have about equal periods of sunlight and darkness. Compare solstice.
Scientific definitions for vernal equinox (2 of 2)
vernal equinox
[ vûr′nəl ]
See under equinox.