The Northern Lights and Spring Equinox this Friday: Observatory director available for comment
Tiny sliver of Crescent Moon and Venus will also conjunct on first day of spring
TORONTO, March. 17, 2026 – While it may not currently feel like it in parts of the country, this coming Friday marks the first day of spring, known astronomically as Spring Equinox, and this will also bring an increased chance of Aurora viewing in Canada.
“This March 20 the magnetic fields of the Sun and the Earth work in conjunction with geometry to give us a good chance at Aurora, so fingers crossed for some solar activity,” says York University Faculty of Science Associate Professor Elaina Hyde, director of the Allan I. Carswell Observatory at York.
The Equinox is often described as 'equal day' and 'equal night' but in fact it is just near to when the day and night are most equal for your location, she explains. At higher latitudes the inequality between the lengths of our days and nights grows. The Equinox could be described as the time when Earth is most evenly facing the Sun.
That in itself is a bit of a trick, says Hyde, as Earth's axis is tilted about 23.5 degrees away from the plane of the solar system. So, if you imagine the Sun, the Earth and the planets all in a line, Earth would be orbiting the Sun tilted just a bit away or towards it depending on where it is in the orbit. This leads to the seasons and at the Equinox the Earth's magnetic poles are tilted nearly at a right angle to the flow of solar wind from our Sun two times a day. This 'equinoctial effect' presents a bigger target for charged particles to hit.
“As the seasons change to Summer or Winter, the poles point either more toward or away from the Sun, reducing this effect,” says Hyde.
This same alignment near the Equinox also means that the magnetic fields of the Earth and Sun can line up in a way that could allow them to connect.
“This is when the 'north-south' of Earth's magnetic field is opposite the Sun's, and opposites attract in magnets,” says Hyde. “This is called the Russel-McPherron effect and together the two effects can lead to more frequent and brighter auroras when the Sun is active.”
The Sun is currently in the most intense phase of its 11-year cycle, moving from minimum to maximum activity or vice-versa. In general, near the maximum we always see more solar activity, but there is also an increase near the Equinox to look forward to.
As an extra astronomy bonus, with the New Moon on March 19, we also have a conjunction between a very faint sliver of a Crescent Moon and the planet Venus this Friday. In Ontario this will occur near sunset in the West, low on the horizon, so observers with a clear view in that direction will get an extra treat.
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Media Contact: Emina Gamulin, York University Media Relations, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca
