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It’s caused by Earth’s tilt on its axis and ceaseless orbit around the sun. Today, we know each equinox and solstice is an astronomical event. They could easily see that the sun’s path across the sky, the length of daylight, and the location of the sunrise and sunset all shift in a regular way throughout the year. They used the sky as both a clock and a calendar.
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The earliest humans spent more time outside than we do. Two factors cause more day than night at an equinox. But that doesn’t mean that day and night are exactly equal in length. Read: Why aren’t day and night exactly equal on the equinox? Around the time of an equinox, Earth’s Northern and Southern Hemispheres are receiving the sun’s rays equally. The name equinox comes from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night). For everyone across the globe, days and nights are approximately equal in length. Note: On this equinox, the sun crosses above Earth’s equator, moving from north to south. When is the next one? The next September equinox will fall at 1:04 UTC Septem(20:04 CDT on September 22 for central North America) translate UTC to your time). What is it? The September equinox marks the sun’s crossing above Earth’s equator, moving from north to south. Meanwhile, south of the equator, spring begins. Read more about these images, which are via Robert Simmon (Sigma Space Corporation)/ NASA.įor us in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun is rising later now, and nightfall comes sooner. From left to right, a June solstice, a September equinox, a December solstice, a March equinox.
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Satellite views of Earth on the solstices and equinoxes.