Autumnal Equinox Arrives Today!

Say goodbye to Summer, because the Autumnal Equinox has just arrived! Wednesday, September 22, 2021, at 3:20 P.M. EDT in the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun will cross the celestial equator (the imaginary line drawn directly up from the equator), signifying for cultures around the world that a change in seasons is upon us. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, this means that days will be growing shorter, and Fall is underway. Keep in mind that while the Autumnal Equinox kicks off the astrological Fall, actual meteorological Fall happened back on September 1, as our cooler days lately have shown. With the Sun shining directly on the equator, day and night on September 22 should be nearly equal in length, though there will be a tiny variation. For friends and family in the Southern Hemisphere, they can look forward to the onset of Spring, with days steadily growing longer, as we saw back in March. This shift in seasons has been a widespread cultural celebration for millennia, with even the Christian holiday Michaelmas (September 29) taking place around the equinox. Locally, Tennesseans can look forward to cooler, shorter days, and a downhill slide to the beloved changing of the leaves and Halloween and Thanksgiving seasons: so get ready to break out those long sleeves!