2023 Autumnal Equinox | September Equinox (2023 शरद विषुव | सितंबर विषुव)

There are two equinoxes every year: one in September and one in March. In September, the Sun crosses the equator from north to south. On 22 September 2020, day and night were roughly equal in most places, marking the beginning of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, which lasts until the winter solstice (21 or 22 December). Similarly, the vernal equinox occurs around March 21, marking the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere (in Australia and New Zealand, Christmas is celebrated in the summer).The equinox occurs each year on March 20 or 21 and September 22 or 23, and both days have the same length of day and night. To avoid any confusion, the equinoxes are called the March equinox (northern equinox) and the September equinox (southern equinox). The March equinox is the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator—an imaginary line in the sky above Earth’s equator—from south to north. This happens on March 19, 20, or 21 every year.

Key Points about Equinox:
❀ The word equinox is derived from two Latin words – aequus (equal) and nox (night).
❀ There are only two times a year when the Earth's axis is neither tilted towards nor away from the Sun, resulting in roughly equal amounts of daylight and darkness at all latitudes. These events are called equinoxes.
❀ The equinoxes occur in March (approximately March 21) and September (approximately September 23). These are the days when the Sun is exactly above the equator, making day and night of equal length.
❀ The equinoxes are prime times for the Northern Lights – geomagnetic activity is twice as likely to occur in spring and autumn than in summer or winter.

In Hindu astrology, the spring equinox is known as the autumnal equinox or Sharad Sampat. Due to the precession the Hindu equivalent of the autumnal equinox was set aside and celebrated on Tula Sankranti.