Image of the week: Spring Equinox

Watching our Earth from space

This week’s image of the week is of the spring equinox on 20 March, as seen from EUMETSAT’s Meteosat-12 satellite, in orbit 36,000km above the Earth.

Last Updated

20 March 2025

Published on

20 March 2025

On 20 March, the Sun appeared directly above the Earth’s equator, marking the spring equinox.

The equinox in the northern hemisphere happens twice a year, around the 20 March (spring equinox) and the 22 September (autumn equinox).

At this moment, the Earth is neither tilted towards nor away from the Sun, creating nearly equal day/night.

The word "equinox" comes from Latin, where equi means "equal" and nox means "night."

Equinox image

This image was captured by the FCI instrument onboard Meteosat-12 early on 20 March 2025.

The Meteosat weather satellites provide imagery for the early detection of fast-developing severe weather, weather forecasting and climate monitoring.

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