Today, Sept. 23 at 11:19 p.m. (Philippine Standard Time), is the start of the autumnal equinox where the nights will be longer and the days shorter. This happens in the northern hemisphere including the Philippines. It can be seen from countries in the northern hemisphere that the sun will stay low in the sky thus making the days shorter. This is because the North Pole tilts away from the sun. Autumnal equinox occurs when the sun’s declination is zero degrees and there are 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night at all points on the Earth’s surface.
Starting tomorrow Sept. 24, 2009 until March 20, 2010, the sun will lie south of the celestial equator, indicating the coming of winter for the northern hemisphere and summer for the southern hemisphere. Autumnal Equinox marks the seasonal move from autumn to winter.
The term “equinox” is derived from the Latin word “aequus” which means equal, and “nox,” which means night.
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