Get prepared: It's time to kiss long days and warm weather
goodbye and welcome in crisp temperatures and crunchy leaves.
The first day of fall, also known as the autumnal equinox, is
Saturday, Sept. 22. The equinox gets its name from an
astronomical curiosity. During both the spring and fall
equinoxes, the sun transits directly over the Earth's equator.
Day and night are approximately equal length on equinoxes, which
is how the days got their name — it means "equal night" in
Latin. This year's equinox occurs at 6:49 a.m. EDT (14:49 UTC)
on Saturday, the time when the sun makes its pass over the
equator. The actual date of the fall equinox varies slightly
each year, sometimes falling on the 23rd or 24th depending on
the vagaries of our calendar and Earth's slightly irregular
orbit. While day and night both last about 12 hours around the
equinox, the days will start to shorten in the Northern
Hemisphere as winter approaches. That's because the Earth orbits
at a slight tilt of 23.5 degrees. When the Northern Hem