While many consider Labor Day and the start of the school year in many areas to be the end of summer, the season only officially ends on the autumnal equinox, which occurs this year on Sunday, September 22, at 8:44 AM Eastern Standard Time. From the Latin for “equal night,” an equinox is one of only two occasions per year where the sun moves directly over the equator in its orbit of the earth, meaning that there is an equal amount of sunlight and nighttime in a 24-hour period everywhere across the globe.
After this month’s equinox, autumn officially begins. Despite occasionally being confused with the winter and summer solstices, the spring and autumn equinoxes are not the same; namely, the solstices occur when the sun is furthest from the equator instead of nearest, and are the shortest and longest days of the year respectively.
This year, the winter solstice (the first day of winter) will occur Saturday, December 21, 2024, and Daylight Saving Time will end Sunday, November 3, 2024. Check out our previous articles on the solstices and Daylight Saving Time for more information.
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