Astronomical Events

Phases of Moon, Seasons

Current time is: Wednesday, March 10 14h34m PST (Vancouver), Wednesday, March 10 22h34m UTC (UK/Iceland), Thursday, March 11 04h04m IST (India)

Event Pacific Standard Time (PST) Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) India Standard Time (IST)
Full Moon
10.2 days ago
Sunday, February 28
08h38m PST
Sunday, February 28
16h38m UTC
Sunday, February 28
22h08m IST
Last Quarter Moon
3.3 days ago
Sunday, March 07
07h42m PST
Sunday, March 07
15h42m UTC
Sunday, March 07
21h12m IST
New Moon
in 4.9 days
Monday, March 15
13h01m PST
Monday, March 15
21h01m UTC
Tuesday, March 16
02h31m IST
Effective Equinox
(from Vancouver, see below for explanation)
in 7.2 days
Wednesday, March 17
18h21m PST
Spring Equinox
in 9.8 days
Saturday, March 20
09h32m PST
Saturday, March 20
17h32m UTC
Saturday, March 20
23h02m IST
First Quarter Moon
in 12.5 days
Tuesday, March 23
03h00m PST
Tuesday, March 23
11h00m UTC
Tuesday, March 23
16h30m IST
Full Moon
in 2.7 weeks
Monday, March 29
18h25m PST
Tuesday, March 30
02h25m UTC
Tuesday, March 30
07h55m IST
Last Quarter Moon
in 3.8 weeks
Tuesday, April 06
01h37m PST
Tuesday, April 06
09h37m UTC
Tuesday, April 06
15h07m IST
New Moon
in 4.9 weeks
Wednesday, April 14
04h29m PST
Wednesday, April 14
12h29m UTC
Wednesday, April 14
17h59m IST

It might be that some times are given above in Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) where it would be more appropriate to give the time in Pacific Standard Time (PST). Or vice versa. If this is the case, subtract one hour from the PDT time to get the PST time, or add one hour to go the other direction.

Note: Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is commonly called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) although, strictly speacking, this usage is historically and astronomically incorrect.

The "Effective Equinox" is the night that is closest to being 12 hours long, hence "Equi-nox", "Equal Night". This is always before the Astronomical Equinox in the Spring and after the Astronomical Equinox in the Fall. The time given is the time of sunset at the beginning of the Equal Night. The difference in dates is due to atmospheric refraction and the fact that the Sun is not a point source of light. It also varies with latitude.

As an example, for Vancouver in March of 2010, on the day of the true Equinox (March 20th), the day is nearly 20 minutes longer than the previous night and nearly 27 minutes longer than the following night. However, on the date of the Effective Equinox (March 17th), the day is less than 3 minutes shorter than the previous night and about one minute longer than the following night.

Occasionally, times for solar eclipses are given above, but in general these will not be seen in Vancouver. Please refer to the Eclipse Web Site at NASA for complete information.

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