Equinox Coverage

How much do you know about the Equinox?

Can you separate the myths from the facts about the March equinox?

Tony Rice, NASA Ambassador

Thursday is the equinox, but there are many ways to define a day

While the word equinox translates from Latin as "equal night" that doesn't mean equal daylight. That day, known as the equilux, happens several days after the September equinox and several days before the March equinox.

Tony Rice, NASA Ambassador

Happy Equilux!

Though equinox means "equal night" in Latin, the day when the Sun spends nearly equal time above and below the horizon, or equilux, happens days before the equinox and that day varies by location

Tony Rice, NASA Ambassador

March 22 equilux

The equinox occurs at the same time world wide, but the day when the Sun is above the horizon for 12 hours varies by location. Credit: Rice

Earth's tilt is visible as it moves through the year's seasons

Earth's tilt is visible as it moves through the year's seasons. Credit: NASA/GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio

Does Earth, Wind and Fire's "September" celebrate the last day of summer?

What does the date in the iconic song represent? Is the 21st night of September the last of summer?

Tony Rice, NASA Ambassador

Astronomical timing helps Hurricane Teddy bring Outer Banks flooding

Effects from Hurricane Teddy arrived this weekend as the Moon as at its closest and lined up with the Sun creating the greatest tidal impact.

Tony Rice, NASA Ambassador

A view of the equinox from mission control

As the Sun passes directly over the equator, the lines marking day and night on the large world map in NASA's Mission Control Center are straight for a moment. Equal amounts of sunlight are shining on the northern and southern hemispheres.

Tony Rice, NASA Ambassador

Equinox vs Equilux

The Equinox arrives Thursday, bringing the beginning of astronomical Spring. While Equinox is Latin for "equal night", that doesn't mean we'll get 12 hours of sunlight on Thursday, that actually happens Monday.

Tony Rice, NASA Ambassador

Fall equinox marks the beginning of autumn, but not equal day and night

The word equinox comes from the Latin word equinoxium, meaning "equal day and night." Looking at the Earth from space today, the northern and southern hemisphere receive about the same amount of daylight. But that doesn't mean we'll get exactly 12 hours of sunlight here in Raleigh on the day of the equinox.

Tony Rice, WRAL contributor/NASA ambassador

Yearly cycle shows how sun progresses north to south

A subsolar point has been moving southward since it paused for a moment over the Tropic of Cancer at the June Solstice which marked the beginning of summer. It will now continue southward until the December Solstice when it will pause over the Tropic of Capricorn before moving northward in this yearly cycle.

Autumn's arrival celebrated differently, at different times around the world

The September equinox occurs on Saturday at 9:54 p.m., marking the beginning of astronomical autumn in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern hemisphere. The September equinox occurs the instant the Sun crosses the celestial equator, the imaginary line in the sky that extends out from Earth's equator.

Tony Rice, WRAL contributor/NASA Ambassador