Autumn is Here! Malika Explains the September Equinox

At 9:50 p.m. the sun crosses the celestial equator (which is Earth’s equator projected into space) as its path across the sky (the ecliptic) appears to move farther south. On this day, the Sun rises due east and sets due west and the length of day and night are approximately equal. The equal day and night is where the word equinox comes from. Aequus in Latin means equal and nox means night.

Even if the name suggests it you might wonder why day and night are not exactly equal on the equinox – only nearly. On Maui, the actual day where we have equal days and nights is not until September 28. Click HERE for a great detailed description of why that is from the Time and Date website.