Autumn equinox

This year the equinox falls on Sunday September 22At 12:44 GMT and At 14:44 Kyiv timeAccording to the U.S. National Weather Service. Right now, the Earth’s axis is tilted toward the Sun, meaning there is almost equal amounts of sunlight and darkness around the world.

This celestial geometry marks the change of seasons from summer to autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and from winter to spring in the Southern Hemisphere. The word equinox comes from the Latin word for “equal night”, which is one of the two days of the year when the hours of light and darkness are the same everywhere on Earth.

The Autumnal Equinox is an important way to mark Earth’s annual journey around the Sun. The hours of darkness will gradually increase north of the equator and vice versa south of the equator until the solstice on December 21.

More nights also means more stargazing hours: some of the year’s best meteor showers are yet to come, and the next three full moons, including the Harvest Moon on September 17, will be superfull moons, which will make them appear bigger and brighter in the sky.

How to observe

Equinoxes and solstices occur because The Earth’s axis is tilted 23.5 degreesThis means that different parts of the planet receive more or less sunlight throughout the year.

For those living on the equator, the midday sun will shine directly overhead during the equinox. For everyone, the equinox is a difficult event to observe.

One of the best ways to celebrate this year is to watch the sunrise and sunset, which will be clearly visible in the east and west respectively. This only happens on the equinoxes, when the star crosses the celestial equator (the imaginary line between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere skies), no matter where you are on the planet.