It’s fall, y’all, so now you can officially get out the warm autumn tones and consume all of the Pumpkin Spiced items you want, without being judged for being too early.
Sept. 22 marks the first day of the fall season, or the autumnal equinox, for the Northern Hemisphere when using the astronomical seasons, CNN reported.
It officially hits at 2:19 p.m. EDT when the sun is directly above the equator, USA Today reported. It will be directly above a point in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, Space.com said.
The equinox will happen at the same time for everyone around the world, no matter the time zone, meaning while it is 2:19 p.m. EDT in Atlanta, it will be 11:19 a.m. PDT, The Old Farmer’s Almanac explained.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association said the Earth will have no tilt toward or away from the sun. The same thing happens in March for the first day of Spring. Then, in June and December, the Earth is tilted, again either toward or away from the sun at 23.5 degrees, according to NOAA.
For the Southern Hemisphere, it is the spring equinox. Equinox means “equal night” in Latin, according to Space.com. It isn’t fully equal, however. Daylight is a bit longer than exactly 12 hours if you go from sunrise to sunset, the organization explained.
Days will get shorter until the shortest day of the year on the winter solstice, or Dec. 21.
While Monday marks the first day of fall when it comes to astronomers, meteorologists say summer already ended a few weeks ago on Aug. 31, with fall starting on Sept. 1. They use the calendar, breaking up the year into four, three-month chunks, which are more aligned with the climate and have dates that do not change, CNN reported.
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