春分：124年来最早的春天

春分：124年来最早的春天

Here’s one bit of good news: Spring is coming early this year.

有一个好消息：今年春天来得很早。

In fact, the vernal equinox, which marks the official beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, is arriving on Thursday.

事实上，标志着北半球春季正式开始、南半球秋季正式开始的春分已经在周四到来。

That’s the earliest arrival of spring in America in 124 years.

这是124年来春天来的最早的一次。

According to the astronomy reference book “Astronomical Table of the Sun, Moon and Planets,” the exact moment of the equinox will occur Thursday night at 11:49 p.m. ET (0349 GMT on March 20).

根据天文学参考书“太阳、月亮和行星的天文表”，春分的确切时刻将发生在美国东部时间周四晚上11:49(格林尼治标准时间3月20日0349)，北京时间3月20日11时50分。

The Earth will at that moment reach the point in its orbit where its axis isn’t tilted toward or away from the sun.

地球将在那一刻到达其轨道上的一个点，在这个点上，地球的轴不向太阳倾斜，也不远离太阳。

There are two reasons, according to Space.com, that the vernal equinox is coming a bit early this year: Daylight Savings Time and the leap year having added an extra day to February.

据Space.com网站报道，今年春分来得有点早，原因有二：夏时制和闰年给2月份增加了一天。

Despite the early arrival of astronomical spring, meteorological spring is already here , according to forecasters. Accuweather claims that designation is from March 1 through the end of May.

据气象预报员介绍，尽管天文之春提前到来，但气象之春已经来临。Accuweather声称，指定春季日期是从3月1日到5月底。

Either way, the cherry blossoms, chirping birds and monarch butterflies that we associate with the new season will find their way.

不管怎样，樱花，啁啾的小鸟和帝王蝶，我们都会找到它们的新季节。