Q: What is the difference between the equinox and the solstice?

Equinox is an astronomical event that recurs twice a year, and the following are the most important features of it:

1. The equinoxes occur daily: the vernal equinox (March 21) and the autumnal equinox (September 23).
2. This day marks that the day and the night are approximately equal in number of hours everywhere on Earth.
3. The equinox occurs when the Earth is in an upright position, meaning that the Earth's axis is not tilted with respect to the Sun.
4. On the equinox, the sun is exactly above the equator (the sun's rays are perpendicular to the equator).
5. The sun rises on the equinox and sets from the true east and west points without any displacement.
6. The vernal equinox marks the beginning of spring, and the autumnal equinox the beginning of autumn.

The solstice is an astronomical event that recurs twice a year, which are the times when the sun reaches the highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, and the following is the most important characteristic of it:

1. It occurs on the summer solstice (June 20 or June 21), and the winter solstice (December 22).
2. The summer solstice has the longest day and shortest night of the year.
3. The winter solstice has the longest night and the shortest day of the year.
4. Solstice occurs when the Earth is tilted toward the sun (summer solstice), or farther from the sun (winter solstice).
5. On the summer solstice, the sun rises from the far north, while on the winter solstice it rises from the far south.
6. The summer solstice marks the beginning of summer, and the winter solstice the beginning of winter.
7. The word solstice denotes the reversal of the apparent direction of the sun in our sky from the far north or the far south, so that it begins to move in the opposite direction.