The Ohio Northern University Observatory will be open to the public on Friday, March 22 from 9 - 11 p.m. to observe the Vernal Equinox, according to Dr. Jason Pinkney, of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. This event marks the astronomical first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

The precise time of the equinox is Wednesday, March 20, at 5:58 p.m.. EDT, but the night sky will be the same on March 22.

This is one of the two equinoxes (the other in September) when you expect to see length of night and day being nearly equal, and the Sun setting due West on the horizon. Dr. Pinkney will demonstrate, using a planetarium program, how the Sun crosses the celestial equator.