AUTUMNAL EQUINOX TODAY

Today is the autumnal equinox, the first day of fall for Earth’s northern hemisphere.  At this point in the planet’s annual orbit, the sun appears directly over the equator, producing essentially the same amount of time in daylight and darkness over today’s 24 hours.  Then, for the northern half of the planet, daylight hours steadily decrease until the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, in December.  Time in daylight will then start to increase again, eventually reaching the vernal equinox next spring.