Thursday is the first day of spring, or the vernal equinox, in the Northern Hemisphere. During an equinox, the center of the sun is on the same plane as the equator. After the vernal equinox in March, the Northern Hemisphere tilts toward the sun until the June solstice, when the sun begins to migrate back south.

Spring 2025 technically begins at 5:01 a.m. Eastern time that day as the sun moves directly over the Earth’s equator — the central line between the North Pole and the South Pole — bringing almost equal minutes of daylight and darkness all around the globe.

I pick out North America’s celestial highlights for the week ahead (which also applies to northern hemisphere mid-northern latitudes).

The vernal equinox heralds the arrival of spring in the Northern Hemisphere (finally). But have you heard the myth about balancing an egg on its end?

It’s far too early to try to fry an egg on the sidewalk, but according to weather lore, the spring equinox is an ideal time to try to balance an egg!