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What does the fall equinox mean?
What does equinox mean?
Is the fall equinox the same day every year?
What are some interesting facts about the fall equinox?
What is autumn equinox?
What is the equinox in astrology?
Sep 15, 2024 · The word "equinox" is Latin for "equal night," one of two days per year when the lengths of daylight and darkness are the same across the globe. The fall equinox...
- Fall Equinox Definition
- Ancient Cultures
- Fall Equinox Customs And Rituals
- Northern Lights Viewing
- SOURCES
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.
Sep 22, 2023 · The equinox arrives on Saturday, marking the start of the fall season for the Northern Hemisphere. But what does that actually mean? Here’s what to know about how we split up the year using the Earth’s orbit.
- mburakoff@ap.org
- Maddie is a Science Writer Based in New York.
Sep 25, 2024 · During an equinox, places around the globe experience nearly equal periods of day and night. Here are five interesting facts about the fall equinox. Its timing can change from year to year.
- Katrina Miller
Sep 18, 2024 · The autumnal equinox is considered the first day of fall, and technically speaking, equinoxes refer to the sun’s bi-annual journey over the celestial equator, which creates an equal number of...
- Nina Kahn
Aug 5, 2023 · In modern spiritual practices, the Autumn Equinox is celebrated as a time of reflection, transformation, and letting go of what no longer serves us. The Autumn Equinox is rich in symbolism and meanings. It represents the bountiful harvest and the abundance of nature’s gifts.
The Earth is tilted on its axis. This means that the Sun illuminates the northern or southern hemisphere more depending on where the Earth is along its orbit. However, at two points in the year the Sun will illuminate the northern and southern hemispheres equally. These are known as the equinoxes.
