The Pilot News - What the heck is an Autumnal Equinox?

EQUINOX EXPLAINED
Well, first of all Equinox means “equal night.” It occurs twice a year — in the spring and autumn. The equinoxes occur around March 21 and Sept. 21. This year, in the Northern Hemisphere where we live, spring officially began at 7:44 a.m. ET on Friday, March 20 which is called “vernal equinox.” Then at 5:18 p.m. EDT on Sept. 22, 2009 the Autumnal equinox occurs. I know we are all looking forward to that.
Both equinoxes are special points in the earth’s orbit when the sun appears directly above the earth’s equator. Day and night have the same length of about 12 hours. Neither hemisphere gets more sunlight than the other, so both have similar seasons — fall in one hemisphere and spring in the other. How high the sun gets in your sky, and how long it is above the horizon during the day, will depend on the season and latitude where you live.
Now, here is where it gets confusing. This whole thing began with Julius Caesar when he instituted the old calendar which counted 365.25 days per year, averaged over a four-year cycle. Then every four years a leap day helped keep things on track. However, as it turns out, there are 365.24219 days in an astronomical tropical year – defined as the time it takes the sun, as seen from Earth, to make one complete circuit of the sky.
Today, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory’s Chester, equinoxes mi-grate through a period that occurs about six hours later from calendar year to calendar year, due to the leap year cycle. The system resets every leap year slipping a little bit backward until a non-leap century year leap gently bumps the equinoxes forward in time once again.
Whew! I’m glad we now have that settled. Now we can enjoy the equinoxes.
SUMMER & WINTER SOLSTICE
Sol + stice come from the combination of Latin words “sun” + “to stand still.” As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to stand still in the sky.
Summer Solstice is a celestial event which resulted in the longest daylight and shortest night of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere we celebrated it on June 21, 2009 at 1:45 a.m. EDT, but the people in the Southern Hemisphere have their longest summer day in December.
Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere will begin at 7:04 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2009 which will mark the beginning of winter and in the Southern Hemisphere it will be summer. Winter Solstice marks the shortest daylight and the longest night of the year. The sun appears at its lowest point in the sky and its noontime elevation appears to be the same for several days before and after the Solstice.
One interesting Solstice fact: The Pagans celebrated the Midsummer moon called the “Honey Moon” for the mead (alcoholic beverage) made from fermented honey which was part of wedding ceremonies performed at the Summer Solstice.
Let me be the first to wish you all a HAPPY AUTUMNAL EQUINOX and a WONDERFUL WINTER SOLST-ICE! Of course we won’t forget the other holidays.

POP QUIZ: More Indiana History. What Indiana city had the first successful goldfish farm in the United States?
ANSWER to last week’s POP QUIZ: The question was: What is the oldest county in Indiana? Answer: Knox County was organized in 1790 by Secretary of the Northwest Territory Winthrop Sargent. The county is nam-ed in honor of Gen. Henry Knox, the first Secretary of War.
Well, that’s it for now... so until next time... this is my view from the Pilot house.
Mike Boys is a lifelong Marshall County resident, former newspaper owner and former public officeholder. The dictionary defines a Pilot House as “an enclosed area on the bridge of a ship, from which the vessel is guided.” His views, opinions and news appear occasionally on the Pilot News Opinion page.