The autumn equinox is now upon us! Right this moment marks the second that the solar crosses the celestial equator, ushering at first of astronomical autumn within the northern hemisphere, which brings with it the inevitability of longer nights, excellent for stargazing.
In 2025, the autumn equinox will happen on Sept. 22 at 2:20 p.m. EDT (1820 GMT), when the solar strikes southward throughout the celestial equator. The celestial equator is an imaginary projection of Earth’s equator into house, forming a circle across the sky that divides the northern and southern celestial hemispheres. The solar’s drop throughout the equator is because of a 23.5° tilt in Earth’s rotational axis, which shifts our star’s obvious path within the sky as our planet goes about its yearly orbit.
We expertise two equinoxes every year, one in March and one in September, when the lean of Earth is such that the solar shines equally on the north and south hemispheres. Throughout an equinox day and night time boast a roughly even 12-hour period. It’s for this attribute that the identify equinox was derived, from the Latin phrases “aequus” (equal) and “nox” (night time).
On the day of the 2025 autumnal equinox, the solar rises virtually precisely due east and units to the west. The months that observe will see cooler temperatures set in because the northern hemisphere receives much less direct daylight, whereas the nights will develop longer and darker — a development that may proceed till we rejoice the winter solstice on Dec. 21.
TOP TELESCOPE PICK:
Need to see the planets of our photo voltaic system for your self? The Celestron NexStar 4SE is right for rookies wanting high quality, dependable and fast views of celestial objects. Take a look at our Celestron NexStar 4SE evaluate to search out out extra.
Whereas Sept. 22 marks the start of autumn within the northern hemisphere, the precise reverse is true south of the equator, the place spring is about to start in earnest!
Darkish, lengthy autumn and winter nights are the right time to bask in some astronomy. Make sure to try our roundup of the finest telescopes and binoculars accessible in 2025 to make sure that you are able to discover the altering skies.
These taken with capturing the post-sunset realm also needs to learn up on our number of the most succesful cameras and lenses for astrophotography, in addition to our information to photographing the moon as its seasonal path takes it larger within the night time sky within the coming months.
Editor’s Observe: If you want to share your astrophotography with House.com’s readers, then please ship your photograph(s), feedback, and your identify and placement to spacephotos@house.com.
