Amman, The winter quadrant, also known as the square or fortieth of winter, ends tomorrow, Tuesday, and the winter fiftieth, or winter fifties, begins Wednesday and lasts until March 21, the date of the spring equinox, according to astronomer Imad Mujahid.
The winter season extends to 90 days (sometimes 89 days) divided into two parts, the 40-day square period and the 50-day period or winter fifties.
Mujahid, a member of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences, told Petra in an interview on Monday that ancient Arabs used to determine the dates of the seasons, the days of cold and heat and the seasons of planting and harvesting as well as the times of the rise and set of stars, and that science was known to them as the science of the signs, similar to present day meteorology.
He said the Arabs divided the winter fifties into four periods, called the Sauds, each extending to about 12.5 days.
According to meteorologists, the spring equinox this year falls on March 20, with some countries celebrating so-called Feast of Nayrouz when the length of day and night is equal, and the sun rises for the first time in the North Pole after 6 months of night, while the sun sets for the first time in the Antarctic after six months of night, according to Mujahid.
Source: Jordan News Agency