Time to put away the bathing suit and buy a pumpkin, this Sunday's autumnal equinox will mark the beginning of the fall season.
The word "equinox" is derived from the Latin words for "equal night," but it isn't totally even with the day, almanac.com reported. During the equinox the center of the Sun sets precisely 12 hours after it rises. Sunrise actually appears when the edges of the Sun hit the horizon, and it does not appear to be dark outside until the entire Sun has set.
"If the Sun were to shrink to a starlike point and we lived in a world without air, the spring and fall equinoxes would truly have 'equal nights,'" former Almanac astronomer George Greenstein, said.
The equinox is actually when the Sun crosses the celestial equator.
The Earth spins on its polar axis once every 24 hours, which causes day and night. It also moves around the Sun once a year which is what creates the seasons. The equinox is when "these two motions intersect," the Huffington Post reported. After this time the days will start to get shorter.
An old wives tale says one can balance a raw egg end during both the autumn and spring equinox, Michigan University reported.
Wayne Osborn of the Physics Department at Central Michigan University tried to balance the same egg on the same surfaces in the days leading up to the autumnal equinox.
"I have concluded that an egg can be balanced at any time of the year but require a minute amount of "support." This support can be provided by small irregularities in the surface or in the shell of egg. The observations are presented in the table that follows," the researcher wrote.
Wiccans believe the equinox (which they call "Mabon") is a time for celebration. For early Wicca practicers, the day marked the death of the harvest god, but they also rejoiced in the fact that he would be "reborn" come spring, The-Wisdom-Of-Wicca.com reported.
Many other cultures have their own take on the story, but essentially celebrated the equinox for the same reason.
