Fall Equinox is nearly here in Cheyenne – in the middle of the night Tuesday night into Wednesday morning (9/23).
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The Earth has an axil tilt – it does no sit straight in the solar system. But whether autumnal or not, the September equinox means we’ll be seeing more night than day these next six months. That is true of the Sun’s presence above the horizon, though it does not account for twilight, when the Sun’s rays extend from beyond the horizon to illuminate our gas-filled atmosphere.
History and Facts: The term equinox comes from the Latin word equinoxium, meaning “equality between day and night”.
The apparent change in location of the sun and moon, marks important dates for hunting, fishing, and farming. It leans on its axis at a 23.4 degree angle.
When it is winter in the United Kingdom the northern hemisphere will be pointing away from the sun, and when it is summer, toward it.
“To some, an equinox signified the struggle between the forces of darkness and decay and light and rebirth, and many spiritual leaders, both real and legendary, faced their greatest confrontation with darkness to attain the light at a time near the equinox”. It marks the beginning of fall. During that moment, Earth’s axis neither tilts toward or away from the Sunday . But this is not the case.
The cooler weather is one of Theresa Johnson’s fall favorites.
Astronomically, once we pass that point we’re in autumn in the northern hemisphere and heading towards the December or winter solstice. Just check the almanac data for Wednesday morning and you’ll see that we still have 12 hours and 10 minutes of daylight.
This week we officially say goodbye to summer and hello to fall.
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The rest of the United States will also turn their clocks back on November 1, 2015 with the exception of Hawaii and most of Arizona because those states do not practice Daylight Savings Time.
