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Sep 22, 2023 · That means the sun’s warmth and light fall unequally on the northern and southern halves of the planet. During the equinox, the Earth’s axis and its orbit line up so that both hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlight. The word equinox comes from two Latin words meaning equal and night. That’s because on the equinox, day and night last ...
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- Fall Equinox Definition
- Ancient Cultures
- Fall Equinox Customs And Rituals
- Northern Lights Viewing
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Equinox comes from the Latin words “aequi,” which means equal, and “nox,” or night. On the equinox, day and night are of nearly equal length across the planet.
As the Earth orbits the sun, it is tilted at a fixed angle. For half the year, the North Pole is tilted slightly toward the sun, bringing longer days to the Northern Hemisphere, while the South Pole is tilted slightly away from the sun, bringing fewer hours of sunlight to the Southern Hemisphere.
Then, as the Earth continues to move around the sun at its fixed angle, the North Pole is tilted slightly away from the sun. The equinox marks the point of the year where this transition occurs, and on the equinox the part of Earth closest to the sun is the equator, rather than places north or south.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the September equinox marks the first day of fall. The reverse is true in the Southern Hemisphere where the September equinox signals the first day of spring.
Ancient cultures didn’t have clocks to calculate minutes of daytime and nighttime, but they could measure the sun’s position geometrically.
People observed that the sun’s rising and setting points moved slightly each day of the year. The summer solstice would occur when the sun reached its northernmost point, marking the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The sun’s southernmost point marked the winter solstice, or shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, when the North Pole was tilted the farthest from the sun. The two days of the year when the sun rose exactly due east and set exactly due west marked the equinoxes.
Greek Mythology: To the ancient Greeks, the September equinox marks the return of the goddess Persephone to the darkness of the underworld, where she is reunited with her husband Hades.
Chinese Harvest Moon Festival: The full moon that falls closest to the autumnal equinox is sometimes called the Harvest Moon. The Chinese began celebrating the fall harvest at the Harvest Moon centuries ago, during the Shang dynasty. Ancient Chinese celebrated the successful harvest of rice and wheat and made offerings to the moon.
Ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese people still celebrate the Harvest Moon or Mid-Autumn Festival. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, lanterns adorn streets and family and friends gather to give thanks, share food and watch the moon. Round pastries, called mooncakes, are often enjoyed at this time.
Japanese Higan: Higan is a holiday celebrated by some Japanese Buddhists. It takes place twice a year, during the fall and spring equinoxes.
During Higan, Japanese Buddhists will return to their hometowns to pay respects to their ancestors. Higan means “from the other shore of the Sanzu River.” In Buddhist tradition, crossing the mythical Sanzu River meant passing into the afterlife.
Harvest Festivals In Great Britain: The people of the British Isles have given thanks at fall harvest festivals since pagan times. Harvest festivals traditionally were held on the Sunday nearest the Harvest Moon.
In the far north, the autumnal equinox signals peak viewing of the aurora borealis, or northern lights.
The celestial display of brilliantly colored lights happens when charged particles from the sun strike atoms in Earth’s atmosphere, causing them to light up. These light displays peak around the fall and spring, or vernal, equinox. That’s because disturbances in Earth’s atmosphere—known as geomagnetic storms—are strongest at these times.
Ancient Observatories—Timeless Knowledge. Stanford Solar Center.
Who, What, Why: What is an equinox? BBC.
Alban Elfed, which translates to “The Light of the Water,” is the Druidic name for this equinox and reflects the importance of the natural world to our ancestors. In his book Stations of the Sun, Ronald Hutton explains that, unlike many seasonal festivals, the autumn equinox does not have a long, ancient tradition in Britain. There are no ...
Sep 4, 2024 · The equinox marks a significant astronomical event that occurs twice a year, signaling a moment of balance between day and night across the globe. It is when Earth’s tilt perfectly aligns with its orbit around the Sun, creating nearly equal lengths of day and night. The equinox marks a seasonal change, signaling the beginning of spring or autumn.
Sep 19, 2019 · What is the autumn equinox? The sun is setting earlier and the nights are getting longer. The autumn equinox falls on Monday 23 September this year and marks the day when day and night are roughly ...
Sep 22, 2020 · September 22, 2020. • 9 min read. Winter is officially coming. The Northern Hemisphere blew by the longest day of the year with June’s summer solstice and is now coming up to the fall equinox ...
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Sep 22, 2023 · That means the sun’s warmth and light fall unequally on the northern and southern halves of the planet. During the equinox, the Earth’s axis and its orbit line up so that both hemispheres get ...
