Non-motoring > Autumnal equinox	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: L'escargot	Replies: 25

Wed 25 Sep 13 11:41   Autumnal equinox - L'escargot

Today is the autumnal equinox in our neck of the woods. Reply to this message | Report message

Wed 25 Sep 13 12:19   Autumnal equinox - Dog

I'd have put money on you having made a mistake there effendi as I always thought the autumnal equinox occurred towards the end of October but, I'm obviously getting my equinoxes mixed up with my solstices. Reply to this message | Report message

Wed 25 Sep 13 12:31   Autumnal equinox - Bromptonaut

>> I'd have put money on you having made a mistake there effendi as I always >> thought the autumnal equinox occurred towards the end of October but, I'm obviously getting my >> equinoxes mixed up with my solstices. The clocks change to GMT (back one hour) in late October, some 4-5 weeks after the equinox. They go forward in the spring approx a week after the equinox. Solstices occur in June and December. Reply to this message | Report message

Wed 25 Sep 13 12:36   Autumnal equinox - Runfer D'Hills

While it almost certainly isn't correct to do so, I do feel that solstices ought to be promoted linguistically anyway to solsti. Seems fitting really. Like haggi. Reply to this message | Report message

Wed 25 Sep 13 12:52   Autumnal equinox - tyro

A quick google suggests that this year it was the 22nd of September. Reply to this message | Report message

Wed 25 Sep 13 13:31   Autumnal equinox - Dog

Very confusing all this Paganism, Winter 2013 solstice ~ Saturday December 21st. Reply to this message | Report message

Wed 25 Sep 13 12:56   Autumnal equinox - Cliff Pope

>> Today is the autumnal equinox in our neck of the woods. >> Where is that then? My diary says it was on the 22nd September. Reply to this message | Report message

Wed 25 Sep 13 13:51   Autumnal equinox - CGNorwich

"Where is that then? My diary says it was on the 22nd September." I think L'escargot lives on another planet. ;-) Reply to this message | Report message

Wed 25 Sep 13 13:05   Autumnal equinox - madf

>> Today is the autumnal equinox in our neck of the woods. >> Time to go into the woods and shoot it. Reply to this message | Report message

Wed 25 Sep 13 13:29   Autumnal equinox - Bromptonaut

There's a Wiki page en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equinox which discusses the term. The actual equinox, scientifically defined is a time, measurable to the minute, when centre point of sun is perpendicular to the equator. It occurs on either 22 or 23 September in recent and forthcoming years. My guess is that today is point at which day & night are of equal length in Snail's part of the UK. Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Wed 25 Sep 13 at 13:31 Reply to this message | Report message

Wed 25 Sep 13 14:01   Autumnal equinox - Roger.

Not long to Yuletide, now. Reply to this message | Report message

Wed 25 Sep 13 14:24   Autumnal equinox - Lygonos

Incidentally the shared birthday of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins... Reply to this message | Report message

Wed 25 Sep 13 14:52   Autumnal equinox - L'escargot

>> My guess is that today is point at which day & night are of equal >> length in Snail's part of the UK. Well, it is according to the Met Office and that's good enough for me. Reply to this message | Report message

Wed 25 Sep 13 15:07   Autumnal equinox - Cliff Pope

The Met Office website says: " Summer begins around the Summer Solstice, when daylight hours are at their longest (around 21 June), and ends around the Equinox, when days and nights are of equal length (around 21 September, on 22 September this year)" Does the official equinox vary across the country? That would make it a bit difficult for makers of diaries and calendars. Reply to this message | Report message

Wed 25 Sep 13 15:46   Autumnal equinox - bathtub tom

That's why my neighbour was rolling, naked in the dew at dawn. Not a pretty sight, even BBD wouldn't. Reply to this message | Report message

Wed 25 Sep 13 15:47   Autumnal equinox - Bromptonaut

>> Does the official equinox vary across the country? That would make it a bit difficult >> for makers of diaries and calendars. According to the Wiki page I found earlier the true equinox occurs at a precise moment over the equator. Equal day/night length is slightly different may not occur on same day. Reasons include way in which sunrise/sunset are defined, refraction of light by atmosphere and a few other oddities/variables. Those may, collectively, be enough for equal, or close as we get to equal, day/night to be on different but probably adjacent days in say Norfolk on one hand and Shetland or St Kilda on the other. Just my twopennyworth. Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Wed 25 Sep 13 at 15:49 Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 26 Sep 13 09:03   Autumnal equinox - Cliff Pope

But 3 days different from the rest of us? How far away would that be? Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 26 Sep 13 09:12   Autumnal equinox - Bromptonaut

>> But 3 days different from the rest of us? How far away would that be? Only I think if you mix up the two definitions of equinox. The scientific one is precise to a minute; the time when the centre of the sun's disc s directly over the equator. In common use it's the time of year when day and night are of equal length. Refraction effects, definition of sunrise/sunset and other oddities mean this occurs after the 'true' equinox at equator. Whether equal day length can differ by more than a day from east to west or more probably due to latitude I don't know. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 26 Sep 13 09:36   Autumnal equinox - CGNorwich

The true autumnal equinox occurred in London on the 22nd at 11.54.21s The date when day and night length was nearly, but not quite, equal was 25th September in London although the 24th was a very close runner up. i Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 26 Sep 13 09:49   Autumnal equinox - L'escargot

>> Today is the autumnal equinox in our neck of the woods. Equi ~ equal. Nox ~ night, or darkness. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 26 Sep 13 11:34   Autumnal equinox - WillDeBeest

Missing = not getting The point = the essential meaning The ancient definition is inaccurate and out of date. We now know - as the Romans didn't - that the light half of the year in our hemisphere ends when the centre of the sun crosses the plane of the equator and, as Bromp points out, that is a precise moment that we can calculate. That's science; the rest is folklore. Reply to this message | Report message       1

Thu 26 Sep 13 14:35   Yesteday there was 12 hours daylight at our house - L'escargot

Perhaps my original post should have said "Today, according to the sunrise and sunset times stated in the Met Office website for our neck of the woods, there will be twelve hours daylight." Forget I ever mentioned the words "autumnal equinox". Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 26 Sep 13 14:48   Yesteday there was 12 hours daylight at our house - CGNorwich

Actually its only 11 hours 56 mins between sunrise and sunset in Lincoln which I believe is your neck of the woods. Need to be precise with these things you know ;-) Last edited by: CGNorwich on Thu 26 Sep 13 at 14:48 Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 26 Sep 13 14:49   Yesteday there was 12 hours daylight at our house - CGNorwich

And I know the apostrophe is missing! Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 26 Sep 13 15:38   Yesterday there was 12 hours' daylight... - WillDeBeest

...but not the 'r'? };---) Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 26 Sep 13 21:34   Yesterday there was 12 hours' daylight... - zookeeper

look up the word ecliptic... i think its all explained there Reply to this message | Report message