Equinoctial point
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The equinoctial point comes two times a year (around March 21st and September 23rd) the sun passes through the equinox. At this point (equinoctial point) the length of the day and night are the same. Hipparchus used the equinoctial point to divide the day into 24 equinoctial hours. Before this the day (dawn to dusk) was broken up in 12 'hours' whose length varied according to the season (longer in the summer, shorter in winter).