Saednews: At the moment of the New Year, the sun exactly aligns in a specific place in the sky, and day and night become almost equal all over the Earth. It feels as if the sky itself is celebrating the moment of renewal with us.
According to Saednews' Science and Technology service, citing Fars News, the moment of the New Year is when the sun exactly passes over the Earth's equator and enters the Northern Hemisphere of the sky. This event, known as the vernal equinox, marks the official beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.
This event signifies that the sun crosses the celestial equator and moves from the Southern Hemisphere of the sky into the Northern Hemisphere. In simple terms, the moment of the New Year is when the Earth transitions from the point of balance between winter and summer into the brighter half of the year.
At the moment of the New Year, the Earth's equatorial plane is exactly aligned with the sun's rays, causing sunlight to be distributed evenly across the entire planet.
Calendar researcher, member of the Amateur Committee of the Iranian Astronomical Association, and head of the Mahani Observatory, Ali Ebrahimi Seraji, explains: "At the moment of the New Year, two interesting events occur in the sky. First, the sun shines directly on the Earth's equator, and this moment is called the vernal equinox. This event happens twice a year: once during the vernal equinox (the beginning of spring) and once during the autumnal equinox (the beginning of autumn). The second interesting thing is that all points on Earth simultaneously receive an equal amount of sunlight. Unlike other days of the year when day and night lengths differ at various points on Earth, at this moment, day and night are almost equal, and no part of the Earth receives more light than another."
At this moment, neither hemisphere of Earth (Northern or Southern) receives more sunlight than the other, unlike summer or winter when one hemisphere receives more sunlight. The sun rises exactly in the east and sets in the west, unlike other days of the year when the rising and setting paths change.
This natural balance, which occurs only twice a year (during the vernal and autumnal equinoxes), is one of the most beautiful astronomical phenomena that showcases the remarkable harmony and order of the Earth in its orbit.
There are two hypothetical paths for the movement of celestial bodies, caused by the Earth's motion. These two paths do not overlap but have an angular difference of about 23.5 degrees because Earth's axis is tilted relative to its orbit around the sun. This is what causes the seasons on Earth.
Ebrahimi Seraji adds: "After the vernal equinox, the sun moves into the Northern Hemisphere of the sky, marking the beginning of spring. Two axes—rotational and translational—intersect at two points, one of which is the vernal equinox. When the sun reaches this point, it crosses the celestial equator and enters the Northern Hemisphere. Currently, the vernal equinox is in the constellation Pisces, but due to the precession of the Earth, it was in the constellation Aries thousands of years ago, and in the future, it will slowly move into the constellation Aquarius."
Why does the moment of the New Year sometimes fall on the last day of the previous year?
According to the member of the Amateur Committee of the Iranian Astronomical Association, the moment of the New Year marks the official start of the new year, but it may shift slightly from a calendar perspective. This means that the New Year may occur on the 29th or 30th of Esfand or the 1st of Farvardin. It is possible that the new year has begun, but the moment of the New Year hasn't arrived yet, or several hours into the new calendar year have passed before the moment of the New Year occurs. However, this discrepancy will not exceed 12 hours. This year, the moment of the New Year occurs at 12:30:31, and it happened 11 hours and 30 minutes before the beginning of Farvardin 1.
A unique feature of this moment is that Iranians, regardless of where they live in the world, can simultaneously celebrate the New Year. Unlike the Gregorian calendar, where the arrival of the new year occurs over 24 hours across different parts of the Earth, in the Persian Solar Calendar, the moment of the New Year is a shared moment for all Iranians worldwide.
