Google today is celebrating a celestial event called the Spring Equinox 2019. The search engine portrays an animated doodle picture of smiling Earth and a few pink flowers on the top and budding plants in the form of ‘Google’ displayed in the background.

The Spring Equinox

Spring Equinox marks the day where the duration of day and night is nearly equal. The word ‘Equinox’ is derived from Latin which means ‘equal’ and ‘night’. This day in many cultures is marked as onset of spring or the first day of spring.

There are two equinoxes that occur in a year, one on March 21 and the other on September 23. This phenomenon occurs when the Sun crosses the celestial equator- the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator- that is from south to north and vice versa when September starts.

Spring Equinox or the Vernal Equinox is a signal that Northern Hemisphere of Earth is tilting towards the Sun. Thus, causing longer days and shorter nights. This equinox extends to USA, Central America, Canada, Europe, Asia and northern Africa. India celebrates ‘Holi’ to mark this day and the season. The Southern Hemisphere will experience the fall season.

Why is it special this year?

Apart from the Spring Equinox, on March 21 the world will also witness Supermoon. This co-incidence last occurred in the year 2000. According to National Geographic, the moon of March 20 will reach its full phase and the full lunar disk will appear 14 per cent larger and 12 per cent brighter than usual.

This March Supermoon will be the last for 2019. The previous two Supermoons happened on January 21 and February 19. This Supermoon is called the ‘Super worm equinox moon’, simply because it coincides with equinox.

A Supermoon basically happens when the full moon coincides coincides with perigee- the moon's closest approach to Earth in its orbit. Supermoons make the moon appear a little brighter and closer than normal.

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