Happy fall equinox images9/25/2023 ![]() On September 21 or 22, the sun's direct light has reached the equator. As the year elapses, the days slowly get shorter and cooler as summer gives way to autumn. When that occurs, the Northern Hemisphere is in the summer solstice. The sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer (66.5° latitude in the Northern Hemisphere) on June 21 or 22. Axial tilt is the reason for the seasons. The seasons have nothing to do with Earth's distance from the sun. They have, if you will, a terrible tan-and that's because they never receive solar radiation from a directly overhead sun (even during the long polar summer, when the sun never sinks below the horizon). The poles, you will note, are snow white. The lowest point is the Tropic of Capricorn. The highest latitude receiving direct sunlight is called the Tropic of Cancer. It will shine directly on the equator twice in a complete orbit-the spring and fall equinoxes-and at various points in the year, the most direct blast of sunlight will slide up or down. At various points in the orbit, the sun will shine directly on different latitudes. Now spin our little skewered Earth and place it in orbit around the sun. Shove a pole through the planet with one end sticking out the North Pole and one end sticking out the South, and angle the whole thing by 23.5°. As Earth revolved around the sun, the planet would be bathed in sunlight, but it would only be the equator that would always get the most direct hit (and the darkest tan). If there were no tilt, only one line of latitude would ever receive the most direct blast of sunlight: the equator. But you adjust, and it really does improve your tan, and you know this instinctively.Įarth works a lot like that, except it's operating by physics, not instinct. Solar radiation is hitting your entire back and arms and legs and so on whether or not you adjust your shoulder just so. The sun is a giant fusion reactor 93 million miles away. It might seem a little silly when you think about it. Why? Because you want the sun to shine directly on a different part of you. Rather, as you tan, every once in a while, you shift positions a little. You don't wait 30 minutes then flop over and call it a day. (Stay with me here.) If you lay on your stomach, your back gets blasted by the sun. The easiest way to imagine that tilt is to think about tanning on the beach. Now that you know what the day entails, you can finally read on to figure out when the first day of fall will happen in 2022.The answer to each of these questions resides in Earth's axial tilt. Those days mark the beginning of fall and the first day of spring! (This is unlike the winter and summer solstice when you'll have the shortest and longest days of the year, respectively.) During these times, the Earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, causing all latitudes to experience a basically equal amount of daylight and darkness. First of all, there are two equinoxes a year: the autumnal and vernal equinoxes. You've probably heard the term "equinox" before, but you might not know exactly what it means. After all, the date changes based on the fall equinox. But eventually, you begin to wonder, "When is the first day of fall?" Those fall activities won't plan themselves! Seasonal apple picking, sweater shopping, and pumpkin carving only lasts so long.īefore you can really make all your autumn dreams come true, you have to know exactly what day fall starts this year. ![]() When you can again find apple cider doughnuts everywhere, and when pumpkin spice lattes are seemingly fastened to people's hands. ![]() We're talking about those days when there's a new crisp chill in the evening air. ![]() Though September may still be a while off, it's never too early to get excited about the change in season.
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