Yesterday it was summer — today it’s fall. The fall equinox and the first day of autumn arrived this morning at 2:50 A.M. EDT. The autumnal, or fall, equinox is an astronomical event that marks the start of autumn — or “fall.”
During an equinox, the Sun crosses what is called the “celestial equator” — an imaginary extension of the Earth’s equator line into space.The equinox happens at the exact time when the Sun’s center passes through this line.
From this point on days become shorter than nights because the Sun continues to rise later and nightfall arrives earlier — this ends with the winter solstice, when the days start to grow longer again.
The word “equinox” comes from the Latin aequus, meaning “equal,” and nox, meaning “night.” At the time of the equinox, day and night are roughly equal in length.
The full Moon that occurs nearest the autumnal equinox is always called the “Harvest Moon.” Why? Around the fall equinox, the full Moon rises around sunset for several nights in a row, traditionally providing farmers with just enough extra light to finish their harvest before the killing frosts of fall set in.
(Bonus information: The Harvest Moon is one of only two Moon names that are astronomical terms and aren’t tied to one specific month. The full Moon nearest to the fall equinox is called the Harvest Moon and can be either the September or October full Moon. The other astronomical Moon name is the Hunter’s Moon — the next full Moon after the Harvest Moon. It can occur in either October or November.)
So — is today really the first day of fall? Based on the astronomical definition of seasons — yes. Astronomical seasons are based on the Sun’s position in the sky. But according to the meteorological definition of seasons that’s based on temperature cycles and the Gregorian calendar, the first day of fall is usually considered to be September 1.
Equinoxes have been important to cultures since ancient times. Seems that people have always tracked the transitions of the Earth’s journey around the sun.
In Mexico, the Mayans built a giant pyramid called Chichen Itza and on the equinoxes, it looks as if a snake made of light slithers down the pyramid’s steps.
In Peru, at Machu Picchu, an ancient stone monument called Intihuatana, that means “Hitching Post of the Sun,” serves as a solar clock to mark the dates of the equinoxes and solstices.
And Stonehenge, in England, was built with the equinoxes and solstices in mind.
I’m always sad to see summer leave, but fall is a pretty good time of the year…..
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