Spring Equinox Gathering at the UMass Sunwheel
UMass Sunwheel. Photo: umass.edu
Source: UMass News and Media
The public is invited to celebrate the day of the equinox, Tuesday March 19, marking the end of winter and beginning of spring at the UMass Sunwheel while viewing sunrise and sunset among the standing stones of the Sunwheel. During the evening session, there will also be an opportunity to enjoy telescopic views of the sun and moon, weather permitting.
Sunrise Session: 6:45 a.m.
Sunsset Session: 6:45 p.m.
Observers standing at the center of the Sunwheel’s standing stones will see the sun rise and set over stones placed to mark the equinoxes, very close to due east and due west. Other structures around the world mark this astronomical change, such as the pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico.
On the day of the March equinox, the sun crosses the celestial equator, passing from the Southern to the Northern Hemisphere. This year, the sun crosses the equator at 11:06 p.m. EDT on March 19. For people living in time zones to our east, the day of the equinox is on March 20. On the day of the equinox, the length of nighttime is nearly equal to the length of daytime, which is the origin of the term equi-nox (equal-night), and the sun rises due east and sets due west.
The March equinox marks the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and fall in the Southern Hemisphere. At the sunrise and sunset talks, UMass Amherst astronomer Stephen Schneider will explain the seasonal positions of the sun and moon, with a special emphasis on the moon’s extreme positions over the coming year during the 2024-25 major lunar standstill. The best dates and times to catch the moon rising and setting at its most extreme positions have been posted on the UMass Sunwheel website at www.umass.edu/sunwheel.
If the sky is clear in the evening, a solar telescope will be set up before sunset to safely observe the surface of the sun, while another telescope will be available to observe the waning gibbous moon. Schneider will also discuss ways to safely observe the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8.
Directions to the Sunwheel.