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What is an equinox? What does it have to do with Fall?

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Integrity

Greetings,

You hear about this on the news, but what really is an equinox?  Meteorologists consider Sept. 1 the start of fall for record keeping purposes, the autumnal equinox signals the beginning of astronomical fall. Fall this year begins on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015.

Equinox seems like a complex thing, but you would be surprised to hear it is pretty simple. Read on to find out more about it.

1. What is an equinox?

As reported by weather.com, twice a year around March 20 or 21 and Sept. 22 or 23, the sun’s rays shine directly over Earth’s equator. These days are known as the March equinox (vernal or spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere) and the September (autumnal) equinox. 

2. What happens during the autumnal equinox?

 
 

 

Fall is the transition between when the sun's equator lines up with the Northern Hemisphere in the summer and the Southern Hemisphere in the winter.  

 

The autumnal equinox, day and night are balanced to about 12 hours each all over the world. Instead of the Earth tilting away from or toward the sun, its axis of rotation becomes perpendicular to the line connecting the centers of the Earth and the sun. Isn't this interesting?

“This change in the tilt causes the change in seasons with the northern hemisphere moving from the warmth of summer to the chill of winter,” said weather.com digital meteorologist Linda Lam. “This process includes a shift in the overall location of the jet stream which plays an important role in weather conditions.”

From that point on, daylight in the Northern Hemisphere gradually becomes shorter up until the winter solstice. This is the opposite of what occurs in the Southern Hemisphere, where daylight won’t grow any longer. You can find out more information on www.weather.com

I hope that you are enjoying Fall in Oregon. We live in a beautiful state and I enjoy the change of seasons every year.

Best Regards,

Jan Sohlman

RE/MAX Integrity

Serving Eugene/Springfield and Lane County

541-302-4810

 

Comments (6)

Gary Coles (International Referrals)
Venture Realty International - Las Vegas, NV
Latin America Real Estate

Jan,  I love your post  -  I had forgotten part of the information and there was also more that was new.  I hope to see more posts like this from you. 

Sep 26, 2015 03:44 AM
Ronald DiLalla
Century 21 Discovery DRE 01813824 - Anaheim, CA
No. Orange Cty Real Estate

Goodmornng Jan,,,always wondered what that mean..Thanks for the explanation.

Sep 26, 2015 03:45 AM
Ted Glover
Alderman Classic Realty, LLC - Moultrie, GA
ABR in Moultrie, Georgia 229-854-5422

Jan thanks for the illustration. And here is another one.egg

Sep 26, 2015 04:03 AM
Louise Dela Cruz
RE/MAX Gold Realty Sacramento - Sacramento, CA
SRES, SFR

So interesting! Thank you for this!

Sep 26, 2015 04:10 AM
Stefan Winter
Real Estate in IL & NV | Owner of Real Estate Web Tech | Daily Vlogger - Las Vegas, NV
Owner - Winter Group & Real Estate Web Tech

Thanks for sharing, always great to learn something new! Have a great weekend!

Sep 26, 2015 06:24 AM
Mark Don McInnes, Sandpoint-Idaho
Sandpoint Realty LLC - Sandpoint, ID
North Idaho Real Estate - 208-255.6227

Interesting information.  Always hear about the equinox soltice etc and don't take the time to research.  So thank you.  Mark

Sep 26, 2015 06:52 AM