Fall Equinox Is Subsequent Week: What It Is and What It Seems Like

While the climate remains to be heat virtually in all places and the leaves have but to show, fall is sort of right here. The official arrival of the season is the autumnal equinox, which happens within the Northern Hemisphere subsequent week. 

After a sizzling summer time, the September equinox marks a welcome shift within the seasons for a lot of people. But what precisely is an equinox? It’s all about Earth and its relationship with the solar. Here’s the right way to perceive, visualize and have fun the autumnal equinox.

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When is the September equinox?

This yr, the autumnal equinox within the Northern Hemisphere falls on Monday, Sept. 22. If you wish to be additional particular and mark it in your calendar, mark it for 11:19 a.m. PT.

Dates can shift barely for equinoxes relying on the yr, but it surely’s all the time round this time in September. The subsequent vernal equinox within the Northern Hemisphere takes place on March 20, 2026, and can mark the beginning of spring.

What is the autumn equinox?

The which means of equinox is correct there within the title: a mix of the Latin phrases for equal and evening. 

“There are only two times of the year when the Earth’s axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in a ‘nearly’ equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes,” the National Weather Service said in an explainer in regards to the seasons. 

The Earth spins on an axis (think about a line operating from pole to pole) and the planet sports activities a jaunty 23.5-degree tilt. The tilt is what offers us seasons. As the Earth orbits the solar, the lean means some areas of the planet get extra direct daylight than others. That’s how it may be summer time within the Northern Hemisphere (tilted towards the solar) and winter within the Southern Hemisphere (tilted away from the solar) on the identical time. During the equinox, the solar shines straight on the equator and provides equal like to the 2 hemispheres.

Other planets which might be additionally tilted on their axes of rotation additionally expertise equinoxes. The time scales could be very completely different, nevertheless. An equinox on Saturn solely comes round about each 15 Earth years. That means every season lasts for over seven years on Saturn. It’s even wilder on Neptune, which has seasons that final a long time. We can be thankful for the comparatively quick seasons on our planet.

What does the equinox appear like?

Wherever you’re on Earth on the day of the equinox (and whether or not it is a spring or fall equinox, relying on which hemisphere you reside in), the solar will rise as near east and set as near west as potential, making it a foolproof compass. Go exterior and watch the sundown and dawn, and make a remark of the landmarks in entrance of the solar. That means, you will all the time know what precisely is west and east.

The two annual equinoxes additionally function the quickest dawn and sundown of the yr, with the solar taking only a few seconds to seem and disappear. That’s as a result of that is the steepest angle at which the solar rises and units in the course of the yr.

How is the equinox completely different from the solstices?

As with equinoxes, solstices are related to Earth’s tilt, however as an alternative of daylight and nighttime being even, the times and nights are at their extremes. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the yr, whereas the summer time solstice is the longest. This yr, the winter solstice for the Northern Hemisphere falls on Sunday, Dec. 21.

What does the autumn equinox appear like from house?

Earth-watching satellites up in orbit have a novel view of the equinox. A NASA Earth Observatory video reveals Earth from house and the way the positioning of the solar’s gentle shifts with the altering of the seasons. It’s an effective way to visualise what’s taking place throughout our planet’s orbit across the solar. 

Celebrating the autumn equinox

Equinoxes aren’t like eclipses or meteors. There is not an enormous wow second if you see one thing spectacular. The fall equinox this yr will appear like every other day, but it surely’s a useful approach to mark the altering of the astronomical seasons. You can go round and declare, “It’s officially the first day of autumn!” How you have fun is as much as you. Here’s a suggestion: Put in your favourite sweater, go for a scenic foliage drive and sip a pumpkin spice latte to welcome fall in fashion.