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Updated September 22nd, 2020 at 18:23 IST

What is Autumn Equinox and when does it start this year? Find out

The Autumn Equinox is around the corner as the Earth's northern hemisphere is all set to enter in its next season. Here is everything you need to know.

Reported by: Disha Kandpal
What is Autumn Equinox
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Many people might have noticed that the days have been getting shorter these days and the nights are drawing in. This can only mean one thing, Autumn is here! The Autumn Equinox marks the beginning of Autumn in Earth’s northern hemisphere. It is a known fact that an equinox occurs when the sun passes directly over the Earth's equator. The Sun’s movement results in a day and night that are of equal length. The Autumn Equinox commences in the Northern Hemisphere, in the Southern hemisphere the seasons are entirely flipped.

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What is Autumn Equinox?

Every year, we earthlings witness two equinoxes. The Spring Equinox which takes place around March 22, and the Autumn Equinox, which occurs on September 22. Because the seasons are flipped in the Southern Hemisphere, in countries like Australia and New Zealand the pleasant month of September equinox marks the start of Spring.

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What is Autumn Equinox time? 

According to a report on Science Alert, while the Autumn Equinox 2020 will occur on Sept 22, the exact moment of the equinox is when our star, the Sun will directly be over Earth's equator, which will happen at 14:30 BST. In India this will be at 7:00 PM IST, while in the USA it will be 6:30 am Tuesday, PT or 9:30 am Tuesday, ET. From now on, the days will get shorter and the nights will get longer until the winter solstice on December 22, when the pattern will reverse.

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Why does Autumn Equinox occur?

The Earth’s tilt in relation to the Sun’s position is what causes both the equinoxes and the seasons. During summertime, the Northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun. Hence, all countries in the northern hemisphere experience the summer season. They also get longer days as more light falls on this part of the surface because of the Earth’s tilt.

But when it’s winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the Southern hemisphere gets the majority of the light. Hence it is safe to say that equinoxes happen when the Earth’s axis is exactly parallel to the direction of motion of the Earth around the sun. Hence the day and night are exactly the same lengths which is 12 hours at all points on the surface of Earth.

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Equinox: Origin of the unique word

Like most words, the word Equinox also comes from Latin and it means"equal night”. It is celebrated in all cultures across the world. One of the major celebrations during the Autumn Equinox occurs at the Aztec monument Chichen Itza in Mexico. Over the years meteorologists have been using this time to determine the exact turning point in the seasons.

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Published September 22nd, 2020 at 18:23 IST

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