EQUINOX: The vernal equinox is happening this morning, which means this for readers: it’s spring.

To be precise, spring begins at 6:29 a.m. today in Bradford, according to EarthSky.org.

The start of spring isn’t new information to most of our readers, but here is one thing you may not have known: this is the time of year the sun sets the fastest.

“When we say sunset here, we’re talking about the actual number of minutes it takes for the body of the sun to sink below the western horizon,” EarthSky writer Bruce McClure states in his article “Fastest Sunsets Near Equinoxes.”

To get an idea of how much faster sunset is, McClure explained the sun sets in around 2 ¾ minutes at the 40th parallel North at the equinoxes, while the sunset lasts roughly 30 seconds longer — 3¼ minutes — during the solstices.

The 40th parallel runs just above the southern line of Pennsylvania.

The sunset is fastest by the equator.

Thirty seconds isn’t a huge difference, but it’s good to know if you’re taking photographs or planning a date.

See the whole article at earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/when-are-the-fastest-sunsets.

SNOWPLOW: A reader found a piece of history near our area and wanted to share.

Our reader writes, “With the recent snowfall, the Fenton History Center (Jamestown, N.Y.) has an interesting piece of early snow removal equipment — a horse-drawn side-walk snowplow.

“According to this item’s accompanied placard, ‘sidewalks were to be cleared by 6 a.m. Five individuals are identified as drivers, but probably others. Their routes took about five hours to plow and in the 1940s the pay was $3.00/route. On weekends one driver could do three routes in a day. One of the identified drivers was 12 years old when he started plowing.’

“The year this service started isn’t mentioned but ended April 1969.”

Imagine seeing a horse drawn snow plow in 1969. That is not so very long ago.

According to our reader, the history center can be found at 67 Washington St., Jamestown.