Northern California will enjoy over 12 hours daylight

The spring equinox marks the start of astronomical spring, which occurs at 2:01 a.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday. During this event, the sun's rays hit the equator directly, leading to nearly equal day and night around the world. Despite the name "equinox," many places in the Northern Hemisphere, including Northern California, will enjoy more than 12 hours of daylight on Thursday. For example, in Downtown Sacramento, the sun will rise at 7:08 a.m. and set at 7:18 p.m., giving about 12 hours and 10 minutes of daylight. The difference in daylight length can be attributed to Northern California's latitude. As places get further from the equator, they tend to have longer daylight hours during the spring. Sacramento is at 38.6 degrees north, while Fairbanks, Alaska, located at 65 degrees north, will see about 12 hours and 17 minutes of daylight. Another reason for the extra daylight is the way we observe sunrises and sunsets. The sun looks like a disc, so the time we measure for sunrise is when the top of the sun is just above the horizon. Sunset is marked when the top fully disappears. This causes a slight increase in measured daylight. Additionally, Earth's atmosphere bends sunlight, which can also make the sun appear longer in the sky. This effect, known as diffraction, leads to earlier sunrises and later sunsets. As spring starts, people can look forward to longer days and warmer weather.