Autumnal equinox arrived, marking major cultural events and weather changes. (Photo : Reuters)
According to meteorological reports, autumnal equinox just happened on Sept. 23 , Wednesday. Equinox is a meteorological phenomenon where the length of the night is equal to that of the day.
The first fact of the period is that autumn on the record came to the Northern Hemisphere at 4:21 a.m. ET on Wednesday and its properties will continue to dwindle until the winter solstice arrives.
Scientifically, "equinox" means "equal night". Autumnal equinox, therefore, came with nights that were almost equal to days. However, the equinox is not 100 percent signifying that days are absolutely equal to nights. Rather, there exists a small gap in accuracy because the day begins only when the upper edge of the sun touches the horizon.
The autumnal equinox is experienced in the month of September. The equinox specifically happens on Sept. 22 or Sept. 24 with some exceptions like in 1931 where it fell on Sept. 24. Since the earth orbits the sun in 365.25 days, sometimes the autumn equinox is delayed by a day.
According to CNN, cool crisp mornings replaced the heat of summer for this phase. The period has also marked some cultural and social events such as Pumpkin Spice lattes and first football games of the year.
Reports say that the beginning of Autumnal equinox was further marked by variations in animal behaviors and changes in plants. For example, squirrels have in the past been claimed to be more playful. New doodles of traditional harvest vegetables have also been experienced, Independent reported.
After the autumnal equinox period, the difference between the length of the day and night will grow until the dawn of the winter solstice in December. The next happening of the autumnal equinox will be in 2016 but on a special case, it will fall on Sept. 24 again in 2303.
