A crowd gathered at Griffith Observatory to welcome the first day of spring
The Griffith Observatory invited the public to join them on Thursday to welcome the start of spring, also known as the vernal equinox. A popular event, it drew a crowd to this annual moment when scientists say the sun crosses the celestial equator — a projection of Earth’s equator into space, that divides the sky into northern and southern hemispheres.
On this day, the Earth’s axis is not tilted toward or away from the sun, creating a roughly equal amount of sunlight hours and dark hours at all latitudes on Earth. The vernal equinox marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.
“Every time the seasons change, Griffith Observatory celebrates with public presentations at local noon and sunset,” said Griffith Observatory Deputy Director Mark Pine. “We help people observe how the changing seasons are reflected by changing positions of the Sun in the sky and on the horizon.”
The Griffith Observatory was the perfect place to welcome spring. It’s an observatory, planetarium, and exhibition space that has been free to the public since it opened in 1935, built with a bequest from industrialist and philanthropist Griffith J. Griffith. He donated 3,015 acres to the City of Los Angeles that became Griffith Park.