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Autumnal Equinox Means It’s Officially Fall, Y’All

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE — The signs are all around us, from the withered buckeye and earlier darkening skies, to little hints of temperatures dropping that send us running to the closet to pull out just one long sleeved shirt, for a change!

The autumnal equinox, when days and nights are approximately equal in length, arrives this year on Thursday, Sept. 22 at precisely 7:21 a.m. PDT. For us, it means we’re getting closer to cooler weather.

For those south of the equator, it’s about to be spring.

The equinox occurs twice a year, in spring and fall, when the tilt of the Earth’s axis and our orbit around the sun combine in a way that the axis is tipped neither toward nor away from the sun.

Around the time of the equinox, both hemispheres of the Earth are receiving the sun’s rays about equally, while night and day are approximately the same length. The word equinox is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), and many have long considered the time to be a period for gathering the abundance of harvest and also attaining balance in the world.

Source: EarthSky.org

Looking for ways to celebrate the equinox? Read more here.

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Sierra News Online

Sierra News Online