Spring equinox 2018: it's official, winter is over – despite the snow

It may not feel like spring has arrived, but the days are getting longer and the sun has crossed the celestial equator

With patches of snow still covering the ground in parts of Britain, it may not seem like the first day of spring. But as of 4.15am Tuesday morning, winter was officially over for another year.

The spring, or vernal, equinox marks the point in space and time when the sun moves across the celestial equator, an imaginary circle projected into the sky above the real equator.