Stay tuned Centretown, spring is here!
Thursday marks Ottawa’s official return to 12 hours of sunlight.
The “equilux” – a latin term meaning “equal light” – is an astronomical anomaly that takes place three days before the spring equinox on Sunday.
This phenomenon occurs because the atmosphere acts like a lens and bends sunlight, so humans can see the sun while it is actually just below the horizon.
Although the sun is actually above the horizon for a little less than 12 hours on Thursday, an extra couple of minutes of visible sunlight at both sunrise and sunset occur.
As for the equinox itself on Sunday, it will have 12 hours, 11 minutes of sunlight.