March Equinox 2027

What this countdown tracks

The clock counts down to the March (vernal) equinox of 2027, which occurs at 20:24 UTC on Saturday, March 20, 2027. At that instant the Sun crosses the celestial equator moving northward, day and night are roughly equal across the globe, and astronomical spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere.

About this celestial event

An equinox occurs when the Sun is directly above Earth's equator, which happens twice a year — once in March (northward) and once in September (southward). The 2027 March equinox at 20:24 UTC translates to 16:24 in New York, 20:24 in London (still on GMT before British Summer Time begins), 21:24 in Paris and Berlin, 23:24 in Moscow, 01:54 on March 21 in New Delhi, and 05:24 on March 21 in Tokyo.

At the equinox the terminator runs from pole to pole, day and night are very nearly equal everywhere on Earth, the Sun rises due east and sets due west, and the daily increase in northern-hemisphere daylight is at its annual maximum (roughly three minutes per day at 40°N). The March equinox is the start of astronomical spring north of the equator and astronomical autumn south of it.

The equinox is the anchor for many cultural calendars — Iranian Nowruz, the Western Christian computation of Easter, the Hindu solar new year, and the start of many traditional growing-season observances. Holi (the Hindu festival of colours) is observed close to the equinox as the celebration of the spring full moon.

What to expect

The equinox itself is a calendar moment rather than a visible spectacle, but the days around it have several attractions. At Chichén Itzá in Mexico, the late-afternoon shadow on El Castillo creates a serpent-shaped descending shadow drawn down the staircase — a phenomenon that draws tens of thousands of visitors annually. Newgrange and Maeshowe (passage tombs aligned to the December solstice) are not equinox-aligned, but several Mesoamerican and Egyptian sites are.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the equinox marks the practical start of spring observable patterns: hay-fever season for hardwood-heavy cities, the first major migrations of birds returning north, the rapid lengthening of evening daylight, and (at high latitudes) frequent strong aurora activity thanks to the Russell–McPherron effect.

Past equinoxes

• March 20, 2026 — equinox at 14:46 UTC
• March 20, 2025 — equinox at 09:01 UTC
• March 20, 2024 — equinox at 03:06 UTC
• March 20, 2023 — equinox at 21:25 UTC
• March 20, 2022 — equinox at 15:33 UTC
• March 20, 2021 — equinox at 09:37 UTC

How to observe

The US Naval Observatory, UK Met Office and timeanddate.com publish exact equinox times. Stellarium, SkySafari, and similar planetarium apps let you visualise the Sun's path on the celestial sphere. NOAA SWPC and AuroraWatch UK provide aurora forecasts that are particularly active around the equinox window.

Related countdowns

The March equinox sits in the year alongside June solstice 2027, September equinox 2027 and December solstice 2027. Pair with the Jupiter opposition 2027 and Saturn opposition 2027 for a 2027 sky calendar.

FAQ

When is the March equinox 2027? Saturday, March 20, 2027 at 20:24 UTC. Is the equinox the same calendar date everywhere? Most of the world observes it on March 20; far-eastern time zones see it on March 21 local time. Why are day and night equal at the equinox? Because the Sun's centre is on the celestial equator, so every latitude on Earth gets ~12 hours of daylight. What festivals fall on the March equinox? Nowruz begins at this instant; the date also anchors Easter and many spring observances worldwide.