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