The photo of Spring flowers above was taken by Anita Martinz of Austria. Thank you Creative Commons.
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Today, March 20, 2009, is the first day of Spring (in the Northern Hemisphere), a term which generally came from plants SPRINGing forth, for much of early cultural development was initiated north of the equator. There is also something called the Vernal Equinox (March 20 in the NH and September 22 in the Southern H), which lasts until the Summer Solstice (usually June 21 in the NH and December 21 in the SH). To be politically (geographically) correct, terms such as March Equinox and September Equinox are now preferred. I tried to click on this posting at 11:44AM, which is the exact time of the ME, but this blog site appears to have me somewhere between Hawaii and the International Date Line.
Now for a few confusing points. An equinox day theoretically should have 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night. However, due to sunlight refraction and the shape of the Sun, there is a bit more daylight today, so you need to wait for the equilux (and this varies with the latitude) to get a 50-50 split. Now here is where it gets really bewildering: meteorologists define the beginning of Spring as March 21 in the NH and September 21 in the SH. However, this should not perplex you: today is the first day of Fall in the SH.
In the NH, if you’re from a cold clime, then Spring ends Winter and much warmer weather will come. If you’re in Hawaii, those shivering mid-60 lows will rise ten degrees and more into the summer.
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The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 122 today to 7278, but this was the second straight week of gains. World markets mostly went up. For the past four years, our budget deficit was under $500 billion. All those stimulus packages will result in a deficit of from $1680 billion to $1850 billion this year, or something beginning to approach $2 trillion. Crude oil went up 58 cents/barrel to $52.19. Gold dropped $4/toz to $957.
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Tropical Cyclone Ilsa in the South Indian Ocean is approaching 100 MPH, but continues to move west away from Australia.
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Now for a few confusing points. An equinox day theoretically should have 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night. However, due to sunlight refraction and the shape of the Sun, there is a bit more daylight today, so you need to wait for the equilux (and this varies with the latitude) to get a 50-50 split. Now here is where it gets really bewildering: meteorologists define the beginning of Spring as March 21 in the NH and September 21 in the SH. However, this should not perplex you: today is the first day of Fall in the SH.
In the NH, if you’re from a cold clime, then Spring ends Winter and much warmer weather will come. If you’re in Hawaii, those shivering mid-60 lows will rise ten degrees and more into the summer.
-
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 122 today to 7278, but this was the second straight week of gains. World markets mostly went up. For the past four years, our budget deficit was under $500 billion. All those stimulus packages will result in a deficit of from $1680 billion to $1850 billion this year, or something beginning to approach $2 trillion. Crude oil went up 58 cents/barrel to $52.19. Gold dropped $4/toz to $957.
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Tropical Cyclone Ilsa in the South Indian Ocean is approaching 100 MPH, but continues to move west away from Australia.
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