Vernal Equinox ahoy!

The vernal equinox occurs today (Monday) at 1:26 pm EST (6:26 pm GMT). This is considered to be a "day of balance" around the world — every location on Earth has approximately 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night on the equinox.

There are many interesting questions to explore around the equinox and seasons in general.  For example:

• Why do seasons occur in the first place?
• What are the seasons like in different locations on Earth?
• What would the seasons be like if the Earth's axis were more tilted, or less tilted? (actual tilt is 23.5 degrees)

We have several Gizmos to help study these questions and more, including some Gizmos in 3D (very cool stuff):

• Seasons: Why Do We Have Them? (2-dimensional)
• Seasons: Earth, Moon, and Sun (3D)
• Seasons in 3D
• Seasons Around the World (3D)

So, if you're in the northern hemisphere... Happy Spring from ExploreLearning!