Spring had technically begun by the time the fiery ball of the sun arose this morning over Grand Lake. The spring equinox this year occurred at 12:07 this morning. An equinox happens when the sun is at one of two opposite points on the celestial sphere where the sun's equator and its ecliptic intersect. In a wider sense, the equinoxes are the two days each year when the center of the sun spends an equal amount of time above and below the horizon at every location on earth. The word equinox derives from the Latin words aqueous (equal) and nox (night). In practice, the day is longer than the night.