March equinox equinox. This is most notable at the more extreme latitudes, where the Sun may be seen to travel sideways considerably during the dawn and evening, drawing out the transition from day to night. At the north and south poles, the Sun appears to move steadily around the horizon, and just above the horizon, neither rising nor setting apart from a slight change in declination of about 0.39° per day as the equinox passes. The Babylonian calendar began with the first full moon after the vernal equinox, the day after the Sumerian goddess Inanna's return from the underworld (later known as
Tishri-years the years from the Autumn season, around the Autumn Equinox (Gregorian September 22/23). The New Years Day of the Tishri-years is called "Rosh Hashanah" ("Head of the Year"); it begins the Fall Feasts of Israel. Tishri 1, however, is not determined directly by its relationship to the Autumn Equinox. It depends on the determination of Nisan 1, which is the day after the New Moon closest to the Spring Equinox (within fifteen days before or after). Tishri 1 is the first day of the seventh month. Although the month number is always counted from Nisan, in the Tishri-years, the year