![]() ![]() This time of year, I love to drive to a farmers’ market not far from my home to buy apple cider. Animals that hibernate start to put on more weight at this time of year so they can survive through the cold months. With the approach of the autumnal equinox, you’ll see squirrels, chipmunks, and other animals start to collect food and store it away to prepare for the winter months. People tend to stay indoors more and may be less active as the colder weather of autumn and winter sets in. Some people suffer from seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, due to the decreased amount of sunlight in the day. One of the most notable effects as the autumnal equinox passes is the reduced amount of daylight. The autumnal equinox affects the earth and humans in many ways. This is when the sun shines directly on the equator, making day and night equal in duration for a short period of time. It occurs on September 23rd this year in the Northern Hemisphere. Around this time of year, people start talking about the autumnal equinox. Each day, I walk out of my home to find that a few more leaves on my favorite tree have turned reddish-orange. It also marks the time of year when the northern hemisphere begins to tilt away from the Sun, resulting in less direct sunlight and consequently the cooling temperatures.Take one look around and you can see the fall season creeping in. ![]() On the autumn equinox, day and night are of roughly equal length and the nights will become increasingly longer than the days, until the spring equinox when the pattern is reversed. The Earth's orbit around the Sun means that in early January, the Sun is closest (known as perihelion) and in early July it is most distant (aphelion). The dates of the Equinox and Solstice aren't fixed due to the Earth's elliptical orbit of the Sun. In a year there are two equinoxes (spring and autumn) and two solstices (summer and winter). Solstices and equinoxes are considered to be the astronomical transition points between the seasons and mark key stages in the astronomical cycle of the Earth. The seasons are defined as spring (March, April, May), summer (June, July, August), autumn (September, October, November) and winter (December, January, February). By the meteorological calendar, the first day of autumn is always 1 September ending on 30 November. ![]() These seasons are split to coincide with our Gregorian calendar, making it easier for meteorological observing and forecasting to compare seasonal and monthly statistics. ![]() Meteorological seasons are derived by splitting the year into four periods made up of three months each. Both equinoxes and solstices are related to the Earth's orbit around the Sun.įor upcoming years, the dates for astronomical autumn will be: Year The astronomical calendar determines the seasons due to the 23.5 degrees of tilt of the Earth's rotational axis in relation to its orbit around the Sun. This year autumn begins on 23 September 2022 and ends on 21 December 2022. Usually, when we talk about the first day of autumn we are referring to the astronomical autumn which is defined by the Earth's axis and orbit around the Sun. One is defined by the Earth's axis and orbit around the Sun and the second is a fixed date which is used by meteorologists for consistent spacing and lengths of the seasons. There are two separate dates which could be said to mark the start of autumn in calendars. ![]()
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