Earth reaches vernal equinox at 1:14 a.m. Tuesday, but the days have been growing longer than nights since Saturday.

The equinox, which of course marks the start of spring, is the point at which the Earth’s axis is neither tilted toward or away from the sun. In the northern hemisphere, though, daylight and nighttime hours become equal a few days before the equinox.

Friday got closest to 12 hours of daylight even, with sunrise at 7:16 a.m. and sunset at 7:15 p.m. This morning, the sun appears at 7:09 a.m. and stays out until 7:19 p.m.

Enjoy the 12-plus hours of sunshine today.