The 2023 spring equinox is here — here's what it is and how it works

• The vernal or spring equinox of 2023 happens Monday, March 20.
• Equinoxes occur when Earth's tilted axis is perpendicular to the sun's rays.
• During an equinox at Earth's equator, the sun appears almost directly overhead.

The year's spring equinox, also called the March or vernal equinox, falls on Monday March 20, at 5:24 p.m. EDT.

To people who live in Earth's northern hemisphere, this astronomical event signals the arrival of spring, winter's end, and the increasingly warm and brighter days that come with the pending arrival of summer.