All equal: The equinox comes but twice a year and is celebrated all over the world. Photo / Vedant Agrawal, Unslpash
All equal: The equinox comes but twice a year and is celebrated all over the world. Photo / Vedant Agrawal, Unslpash
It comes but twice a year: it's 'all equal day'.
It's the time when the planet satisfyingly aligns with the sun for 12 hours of night and 12 hours of day. Since prehistory the equinox has had a unique place and appeal to astronomers and fans of beautiful symmetry. From the mysterious Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain which was erected 5000 years ago, to New Zealand's own Stonehenge Aotearoa observatory in the Wairarapa, you'll find places dedicated to the phenomenon all over the world.
will be holding a special Spring Equinox event to celebrate. These are a slightly more organised and family friendly version of the celebrations that have been going on for millennia.
Here the popular destinations around the world were built to honour the equinox. Some of which have some neat tricks that happen only twice a year.
Newgrange, Ireland's answer to Stonehenge. Photo / Stefan Jürgensen, Flickr
Newgrange, Ireland
We've already mentioned the famous English 'Henge' in Wiltshire. Less familiar but equally old is the monument in County Meath.
Built around 3200 BC, the stones are covered with a mound of earth lending to its more common name the knoll of Newgrange.
During the week of Autumn Solstice, at dawn a beam of sunlight enters a doorway illuminating a room inside the mound. There is only space inside for 20 people at a time.
Each year, there is a lottery held to which thousands of people enter, with a hope of being admitted to the chamber at Newgrange.
The temple of Mnajdra, Malta. Photo / Wikimedia Commons
The Temples of Malta
The Mediterranean island is home to seven ancient temples which are among some of the earliest known freestanding buildings in the world. Dated to around 6000 years ago they are even older than the Northern Henges. The semicircular chambers of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra temples are built to face the rising sun during the equinox so that the beams are framed between the stones.
Chichén Itzá, the Mayan temple of the snakes. Photo / Marv Watson, Unsplash
Chichén Itzá, Mexico
The famous Mayan step pyramid at Chichén Itzá is visited by thousands during this time of year. Each equinox the steps put on a spectacular show. The temple was built by more recent sun worshipers - between 1050 and 1300AD. The sun casts a shadow during equinoxes on the northern wall of the great pyramid which looks like a serpent writhing down the stairs. Something emphasised by the snake sculptures at the base.
Jantar Mantar, playground of the skies. Photo / Ibrahum Rifath, Unsplash
Jantar Mantar, India
The 18th century observatory in Jaipur is a playground for astronomers. The odd-shaped buildings from the Mughal era period are astronomical devices for observations and measuring the movement of the sun. The name Jantar Mantar means literally "Instruments of the harmony of the heavens". The pink city's henges put the ones in Europe to shame.
Tethering post of the sun, Peru. Photo / McKay Savage, Wikimedia Commons
Machu Picchu, Peru
For those hikers completing the climb up to Peru's famous mountain city during a solstice, there is a special view to reward their effort. Intihuatana is a large sacred stone on top of the mountain, whose name means "hitching post of the sun". The square polished stone points to all four corners of the compass - north, south, east, and west. It's tilted at 13 degrees towards the north.
At midday on the equinox it has a spectacular trick. At this time the sun is directly overhead, causing the stone's shadow to disappear.
