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Thread: Happy Equinox!

  1. #1
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    Happy Equinox!

    What? No equinox thread? Well, time to rectify that.

    Lots of pretty pix in this article, but I'm only posting one. It's NG after all...
    Vernal Equinox 2018: Facts About the First Day of Spring
    Find out why equinoxes happen and how cultures around the world have marked the biannual alignment.

    SPRING EQUINOX PHOTOS FROM NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S YOUR SHOT COMMUNITY


    PHOTOGRAPH BY AVERY LOUIS RICHARDSON, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC YOUR SHOT
    Joshua Tree National Park, California.
    PHOTOGRAPH BY JIAWEI L., NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC YOURSHOT
    By Nadia Drake
    PUBLISHED MARCH 20, 2018

    Twice each year, as the sun marches across the sky, its center crosses Earth’s Equator.

    This celestial alignment results in the equinox—a day with light and dark of (nearly) equal length, with the sun rising precisely in the east and setting precisely in the west. This year, the vernal, or spring, equinox will occur on Tuesday, March 20.

    For most people, the equinox simply heralds a changing of the seasons. In March, the vernal equinox signals the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the south, and the reverse happens during the September equinox.

    But for many ancient cultures across the Americas, equinoxes were something more: a time for celebration, sacrifice, and migration.

    For millennia, observing the sun’s shifting path was both essential for survival and hard to ignore. Our star’s celestial wanderings foretold the onset of the growth and harvest seasons and warned of impending winter, so it’s not unusual to find a variety of solar calendars among the artifacts of vanished civilizations. Other cultures are keeping their traditions alive, and still performing ceremonies timed to the equinox.

    ANCIENT CALENDARS
    Many people have heard of the Maya calendar, but others are lesser known. In the Peruvian desert north of Lima, at a site called Chankillo, an enormous astronomical observatory sits atop a ridge. Dating back to at least 500 B.C., the installation is a complex array of 13 towers, fashioned in a north-south line resembling a spine.

    As the sun moves through its yearly paces, it rises and sets between the towers at predictable times, appearing to the left of the first tower at the summer solstice, in the center at equinox, and to the right of the last tower at winter solstice.

    “The extreme end towers are very clearly marking the solstices, though the argument for the equinox is more indirect,” notes archaeologist Iván Ghezzi of the Catholic University of Peru, who described the site’s solar connection in 2007.

    The identity of the observatory’s builders is still unknown, but like many ancient cultures in the Americas, they appeared to worship the sun. “Chankillo is much more than merely an astronomical observatory,” Ghezzi says. “It’s a site that was a large ceremonial center.”

    Chankillo, though still fundamentally enigmatic, is one of many examples of structures built to align with the equinox, such as a Stonehenge-like circle of wooden poles, or Woodhenge, at a prehistoric site called Cahokia in Southern Illinois, and the earthen lodges oriented toward astronomical features built by the Skidi Pawnee.

    LIGHT, SHADOW, AND SACRIFICE
    But sometimes, simply marking astronomical alignments isn’t enough; another ancient method of tracing the sun’s meanderings through the sky involves using light and shadow to paint particular images. Here, the sunlight itself does the work, inscribing illuminated shapes or casting shadows. One example of this is at Chichén Itzá, where the Maya crafted a sculpture that transforms itself into a blazing serpent at equinox, representing their deity Kukulcan.

    Another image in light was discovered in 1977, when rock artist Anna Sofaer was exploring the petroglyphs of the American southwest. There, at the top of New Mexico’s Fajada Butte, Sofaer found what’s known as the Sun Dagger, a calendrical marking created from two spirals etched into the rock. During summer solstice and equinox, the spirals are sliced by a dagger of light as the sun shines through slabs of rock; at winter solstice, two daggers appear on either side of the spiral—or did. The rock slabs have shifted and the images no longer appear.

    The site is in Chaco Canyon, where an ancient civilization thrived for millennia before mysteriously abandoning their city.

    Further evidence, in the form of interred bird bones, suggests that the Chaco Canyon inhabitants marked the equinox by sacrificing scarlet macaws. They’re not alone: The practice was apparently quite common among the Puebloans of the Southwest and Northern Mexico.

    “In many of areas of the ancient New World, scarlet macaws were symbolically associated with the sun and with fire, probably because of their red and yellow feathers,” says anthropologist Andrew Somerville, currently at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, who has worked extensively at a site called Paquime in northern Mexico. “By sacrificing a symbol of the sun on this solar holiday, one was perhaps ritually ending the dry season and hastening the arrival of the spring and summer rains.”

    LIVING TRADITIONS
    Some Native American equinox traditions are still alive. For the Lakota of the U.S. Midwest, the vernal equinox not only kicked off a seasonal migration in the Black Hills of South Dakota, but also a series of ceremonies meant to welcome life on Earth and send the souls of the deceased to briefly rest in the core of the Milky Way.

    “Our people, for all these years, have done that,” says Victor Douville, who teaches the ethnoastronomy course at Sinte Gleska University on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. Millennia ago, Douville says, the Lakota noticed that every spring, the sun rises in the constellation known as the Dried Willow.

    “Those stars look like nubs on the branch, and the branch represents the red willow,” Douville says.

    The inner bark of that red willow is the main ingredient used to make tobacco for the equinoctial Sacred Pipe ceremony, which is meant to rekindle the sacred fire of life on Earth. The ceremony is the first in a series of four that culminates with the Sun Dance on the summer solstice.

    For a long time, scholars thought only settled, agricultural societies marked the movements of the heavens. Yet the Lakota, who followed great herds of buffalo across the U.S. Midwest, also timed their movements to the motions of the sun and stars. The ancient traditions that accompanied their migrations are still alive, and in some cases thriving, on the Rosebud reservation today.

    “We still have the elders that know about this,” Douville says. “And when they die out, we still have the language.”


    Nadia Drake is a science journalist who writes the National Geographic blog No Place Like Home.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  2. #2
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    Indeed!

    Happy Spring! Hope it`s warming for ya!
    Kung Fu is good for you.

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    autumnal

    It's Finally Almost Fall! Here's Everything to Know About the Fall Equinox


    Getty Images

    MADISON ROBERTS
    September 20, 2018 04:19 PM

    Despite the fact that the pumpkin spice latte debuted this year in August, fall actually doesn’t begin until Saturday September 22, 2018. This day not only marks the unofficial start of sweater weather, it it also has a scientific significance: the autumnal equinox.

    The equinox isn’t just a day, it’s a minute.

    According to The Weather Channel, the autumnal equinox happens at 9:54 p.m. EDT, marking the official end of summer and the beginning of fall. During that minute, the sun crosses the Earth’s equator from the Northern Hemisphere into the Southern Hemisphere and day and night last the exact same amount of time — 12 hours — everywhere across the world.

    So why does this happen? Throughout the year, the earth tilts on its axis at a diagonal away from or toward the sun, causing the change in seasons. During the equinox, it becomes momentarily perfectly perpendicular, meaning the sun’s rays pass directly over the equator. Following that minute, the Northern hemisphere begins to tilt away from the sun leading to shorter days and cooler temperatures. It also causes a shift in the jet stream, which affects weather patterns.

    Equinoxes happen twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall, while the solstices occur once in the summer and once in the winter. During an equinox, the sun is at the closest distance to the equator, while during a solstice it is the furthest distance away.

    What time does your the autumnal equinox begin in your time zone?

    Eastern Daylight Time: 9:54 p.m.
    Central Daylight Time: 8:54 p.m.
    Mountain Daylight Time: 7:54 p.m.
    Mountain Standard Time (Arizona): 6:54 p.m.
    Pacific Daylight Time: 6:54 p.m.
    Alaska Daylight Time: 5:54 p.m.
    Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time: 3:54 p.m.
    Now you know the exact time. You can thank me in the fall.

    Have a great weekend, everyone!
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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    Full Worm Supermoon for Spring Equinox

    March's 'Full Worm Supermoon' to coincide with spring equinox
    by CODY MILLER, KSNV Staff Sunday, March 17th 2019


    The Full Worm Supermoon will be this year's third and final supermoon. (Photo: NASA/Goddard/Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter via MGN Online)

    LAS VEGAS (KSNV) - This year’s third and final supermoon is set to coincide with the spring equinox on Wednesday, March 20.

    The Full Worm Supermoon will mark the first time a full moon and the spring equinox (or vernal equinox) have coincided within four hours of each other in 19 years, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.

    If you didn’t get enough of the Super Blood Wolf Moon in January or the Full Snow Supermoon in February, the Full Worm Supermoon is expected to appear brighter and bigger than normal given that the sky is clear and dark.

    Wondering about the funny name?

    The Old Farmer’s Almanac says that Native American and other traditional names for full moons were created to track the seasons.

    March’s supermoon is called the Full Worm Moon because the ground begins to soften and earthworm casts begin to appear, which brings robins and other birds to feed, marking the start of spring.

    Another name for the March moon is the Full Sap Moon.

    The Full Worm Supermoon will be on full display beginning around 9:40 p.m. EST/6:40 p.m. PST March 20.
    THREADS
    Hi; Moon we are back!!!
    Happy Equinox!
    Gene Ching
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  5. #5
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    Sprung

    The first day of spring is here. Here's what you should know about the spring equinox
    By Michelle Lou and Brandon Griggs, CNN
    Updated 3:06 PM ET, Wed March 20, 2019


    The first day of spring this year is on March 20.

    (CNN)It's almost time to hang up those winter coats. The season of flower blossoms, pastel colors, playoff basketball and Easter egg hunting is upon us.

    This year, the first day of spring -- also known as the vernal equinox -- falls on March 20. Here's what you need to know about the occasion.

    What's the spring equinox?

    The vernal quinox marks one of the two times a year when day and night are nearly the same length. The term equinox comes from the Latin word equinoxium, which means "equality between day and night."
    Before the arrival of Westerners, Hawaiians made their clothing from tree bark, in a practice called kapa. Now, Sabra Kauka is helping the next generation embrace this tradition.
    This phenomenon occurs when the center of the sun is directly above Earth's equator.
    The spring equinox signals that the Northern Hemisphere of the planet has begun slowly tilting toward the sun, leading to longer days and more sunlight, according to NASA.


    Druids wait for the sun to rise as they celebrate the spring equinox at Stonehenge.

    When is it, exactly?

    The precise time of the astronomical start of spring is Wednesday at 5:58 p.m. ET. If you're in a different time zone, you can check what time it starts on the US Naval Observatory's website.

    Is anything special happening?

    There will be a full moon on Wednesday at 9:43 p.m. ET, just a few hours after the official start of spring. It's the first time since 1981 that the spring equinox and a full moon coincide on the same day.
    This full moon is also extra special because it will be a supermoon. That means the moon will appear larger than normal because of its close proximity to Earth.

    Is the spring equinox always on the same day?

    No, but it doesn't vary by much. The spring equinox always occurs in the Northern Hemisphere on March 19, 20 or 21.
    The date of the equinox changes from year to year to account for the fact that the Earth doesn't take exactly 365 days to make a complete revolution around the sun. The Gregorian calendar adds a leap day every four years to account for this, and the spring equinox date varies for the same reason.

    How do people celebrate it?

    People across the globe mark the occasion in various ways.


    Thousands surround the Kukulkan pyramid at the Chichen Itza archaeological site during the celebration of the spring equinox.

    The vernal equinox also is the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz (and other spellings). For more than 300 million people worldwide it's the start of a monthlong celebration of new beginnings.
    In Chichen Itza, Mexico, thousands gather at the Kulkulkan pyramid. In the late afternoon, the sun creates a shadow that looks like a snake sliding down the northern staircase.
    And in Stonehenge, England, pagans, druids and tourists watch the picturesque sunrise at the prehistoric monument.
    Holi, a major festival in India that marks the start of spring, also begins on March 20 this year. During Holi, people come together for song, dance and to splash their loved ones with colored powder and water.
    Anyone else catch the Worm Supermoon last night? It was spectacular in our area. Eager to see it tonight.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  6. #6
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    autumnal

    Fall equinox 2019: Not as 'equal' as you may think
    Forrest Brown, CNN • Published 23rd September 2019


    Earth: Twice a year, the terminator that divides night from day on Earth is a straight north-south line. We call those the equinoxes. There's one in the spring (or vernal) equinox. The other is the fall (or autumnal) equinox, which is most associated with harvests.

    (CNN) — Twice a year, everyone on Earth is seemingly on equal footing -- at least when it comes to the distribution of daytime and nighttime.
    On Monday, we enter our second equinox of 2019. If you reside in the Northern Hemisphere, you know it as the fall equinox (or autumnal equinox). For people south of the equator, this equinox actually signals the coming of spring.
    Folks right along the equator have roughly 12-hour days and 12-hour nights all year long, so they won't really notice a thing.
    People close to the poles, in destinations such as Alaska, go through wild swings in the day/night ratio each year. They have long, dark winters and summers where night barely intrudes.
    But during the equinox, everyone from pole to pole gets to enjoy a 12/12 split of day and night. Well, there's just one rub -- it isn't as perfectly "equal" as you may have thought.
    There's a good explanation (SCIENCE!) for why you don't get precisely 12 hours of daylight on the equinox. More on that ****her down in the article.
    Here are the answers to some of your fall equinox questions:
    Where does the word 'equinox' come from?
    From our CNN Fast Facts file: The term equinox comes from the Latin word equinoxium, meaning "equality between day and night."
    Why does fall equinox happen?
    The Earth rotates along an imaginary line that runs from North Pole to South Pole. It's called the axis, and this rotation is what gives us day and night.
    However, the axis tilts at 23.5 degrees, as NASA explains. That positions one hemisphere of the planet to get more sunlight than the other for half of the year's orbit around the sun. This discrepancy in sunlight is what triggers the seasons.
    The effect is at its maximum in late June and late December. Those are the solstices, and they have the most extreme differences between day and night, especially near the poles. (That's why it stays light for so long each day during the summer in places such as Scandinavia.)
    Since the summer solstice in June, days have been progressively becoming shorter in the Northern Hemisphere and the nights longer for the past three months. Welcome to fall equinox!

    What did our ancestors know about all this?

    Long before the age of clocks, satellites and modern technology, our ancient ancestors knew a lot about the movement of the sun across the sky -- enough to build massive monuments and temples that, among other purposes, served as giant calendars to mark the seasons.
    You can travel to these sites today. Here are just a few:
    -- Stonehenge (United Kingdom): Many mysteries about these giant slabs remain, but we do know they are aligned to mark the yearly passage of the sun. (Amesbury, Salisbury SP4 7DE, UK)
    -- Megalithic Temples of Malta: These seven temples on the Mediterranean island are some of the earliest free-standing stone buildings in the world, going back 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. At Hagar Qim and Mnajdra temples, the semicircular chambers are aligned so that the rising sun on an equinox is framed between the stones.
    -- Jantar Mantar (New Delhi, India): Much more recent in origin (1724 and 1730), these buildings from the end of the Mughal period are astronomical observatories. Crowds will gather here each equinox (though they make for a fascinating tour any time).

    What are some festivals, myths and rituals still with us?

    All around the world, the fall equinox has weaved its way into our cultures and celebrations.
    In Greek mythology, the fall equinox marks the return of the goddess Persephone to the underworld for three months, where she is reunited with her husband, Hades.
    Chinese and Vietnamese people still celebrate the Harvest Moon (also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival). Lanterns line the streets as people give thanks, watch the moon and eat. Round pastries called mooncakes are a Mid-Autumn Festival favorite. It's held on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month on the Chinese calendar. That was September 13 in 2019.
    Harvest festivals In Great Britain have their roots in fall equinox since pagan times.

    Are the Northern Lights really more active at the equinoxes?

    In a word, yes.
    It turns out the autumnal equinox and spring (or vernal equinox) usually coincide with peak activity with the aurora borealis.
    These beautiful, fascinating geomagnetic storms tend to be most active in March and April and then again in September and October, according to 75 years of historical records analyzed by solar physicist David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

    So why isn't the equinox exactly equal?

    It turns out you actually get a little more daylight than darkness on the equinox, depending on where you are on the planet. How does that happen?
    As the US National Weather Service explains, the "nearly" equal hours of day and night are because of the complex way a sunrise is measured and the refraction of sunlight in our atmosphere.
    This bending of light rays "causes the sun to appear above the horizon when the actual position of the sun is below the horizon." The day is a bit longer at higher latitudes than at the equator because it takes the sun longer to rise and set the closer you get to the poles. So on fall equinox, the length of day will vary a little according to where you are:
    -- At the equator: About 12 hours and 6 and half minutes (Quito, Ecuador, or Kampala, Uganda)
    -- At 30 degrees latitude: About 12 hours and 8 minutes (Austin, Texas, or Cairo, Egypt)
    -- At 60 degrees latitude: About 12 hours and 16 minutes (Helsinki, Finland)
    For the truly equal day/night split, you have to wait some days after the official equinox. That's called the equilux.
    equilux huh...
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  7. #7
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    vernal 2020

    Our office is closed due to the shelter in place order. If anyone needs to reach me, I'm on my personal social media.

    Be safe everyone. Stay healthy!
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  8. #8
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    And we're still sheltered...

    What a strange half year it's been...

    Fall equinox 2020: Not as 'equal' as you may think
    Forrest Brown, CNN • Updated 22nd September 2020


    Earth: Twice a year, the terminator that divides night from day on Earth is a straight north-south line. We call those the equinoxes. There's one in the spring (or vernal) equinox. The other is the fall (or autumnal) equinox, which is most associated with harvests. Click through the gallery to see previous autumnal equinox celebrations and settings around the world:
    NASA images
    (CNN) — Twice a year, everyone on Earth is seemingly on equal footing -- at least when it comes to the distribution of light and dark.
    On Tuesday, we enter our second and final equinox of 2020. If you reside in the Northern Hemisphere, you know it as the fall equinox (or autumnal equinox). For people south of the equator, this equinox actually signals the coming of spring.
    Folks right along the equator have roughly 12-hour days and 12-hour nights all year long, so they won't really notice a thing. But people close to the poles, in destinations such as the northern parts of Canada, Norway and Russia, go through wild swings in the day/night ratio each year. They have long, dark winters and summers where night barely intrudes.
    But during equinoxes, everyone from pole to pole gets to enjoy a 12 / 12 split of day and night. Well, there's just one rub -- it isn't as perfectly "equal" as you may have thought.
    There's a good explanation (SCIENCE!) for why you don't get precisely 12 hours of daylight on the equinox. More on that ****her down in the article.

    Here are the answers to your fall equinox questions:

    Where does the word 'equinox' come from?
    From our CNN Fast Facts file: The term equinox comes from the Latin word equinoxium, meaning "equality between day and night."

    Precisely when does the fall equinox happen?
    The equinox will arrive at 13:31 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) September 22. For people in places such as Toronto and Miami, that's 9:31 a.m. local time. Out in Los Angeles and Vancouver, that means it arrives at 6:31 a.m.
    Now for folks in Madrid, Berlin and Cairo, it comes precisely at 3:31 p.m. Going ****her east, Dubai marks the exact event at 5:31 p.m. For residents of Bangkok, it's 8:31 p.m. while Singapore and Hong Kong clock in at 9:31 p.m. You can click here to see more cities (rounded down by one minute).

    Why does fall equinox happen?
    The Earth rotates along an imaginary line that runs from North Pole to South Pole. It's called the axis, and this rotation is what gives us day and night.
    However, the axis tilts at 23.5 degrees, as NASA explains. That positions one hemisphere of the planet to get more sunlight than the other for half of the year's orbit around the sun. This discrepancy in sunlight is what triggers the seasons.
    The effect is at its maximum in late June and late December. Those are the solstices, and they have the most extreme differences between day and night, especially near the poles. (That's why it stays light for so long each day during the summer in places such as Scandinavia and Alaska.)
    But since the summer solstice three months ago in June, you've noticed that our days have been progressively becoming shorter in the Northern Hemisphere and the nights longer. And now here we are at the fall equinox!

    What did our ancestors know about all this?
    A 'superhenge' discovered near Stonehenge in England is believed to have been built 4,500 years ago. CNN's Erin McLaughlin reports.
    Long before the age of clocks, satellites and modern technology, our ancient ancestors knew a lot about the movement of the sun across the sky -- enough to build massive monuments and temples that, among other purposes, served as giant calendars to mark the seasons.
    Normally, you could arrange travel to these sites. This year, you have to factor in the Covid-19 pandemic like you would with any other trip.
    Here are just a few of the sites associated with the equinox:
    -- Stonehenge (United Kingdom): Many mysteries about these giant slabs remain, but we do know they are aligned to mark the yearly passage of the sun. Because of the pandemic, there will be no in-person gathering at Stonehenge this fall, according to the BBC.
    -- Megalithic Temples of Malta: These seven temples on the Mediterranean island are some of the earliest free-standing stone buildings in the world, going back 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. At Hagar Qim and Mnajdra temples, the semicircular chambers are aligned so that the rising sun on an equinox is framed between the stones.
    -- Jantar Mantar (New Delhi, India): Much more recent in origin (1724 and 1730), these buildings from the end of the Mughal period are astronomical observatories.

    What are some festivals, myths and rituals still with us?
    All around the world, the fall equinox has weaved its way into our cultures and traditions.
    In Greek mythology, the fall equinox marks the return of the goddess Persephone to the underworld for three months, where she is reunited with her husband, Hades.
    Chinese and Vietnamese people still celebrate the Harvest Moon (also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival). Lanterns line the streets as people give thanks, watch the moon and eat. Round pastries called mooncakes are a Mid-Autumn Festival favorite. It's held on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month on the Chinese calendar. That will be Thursday, October 1, this year.
    Great Britain's beloved harvest festivals have their roots in fall equinox since pagan times.
    Showa Kinen Park, Tokyo autumn leaves
    Autumn leaves put on a show at Showa Kinen Park in Tokyo.
    courtesy Takashi Hososhima, creative commons
    In Japan, Autumnal Equinox Day is national holiday. In Japanese, it's known as Shubun no Hi (秋分の日), according to Coto Japanese Academy. The roots of the celebration are thought to go back to Shintoism and Buddhism.
    Are the Northern Lights really more active at the equinoxes?
    Yes -- they often put on more of a show this time of year.
    It turns out the autumnal equinox and spring (or vernal equinox) usually coincide with peak activity with the aurora borealis.
    These beautiful, fascinating geomagnetic storms tend to be most active in March and April and then again in September and October, according to 75 years of historical records analyzed by solar physicist David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

    So why isn't the equinox exactly equal?
    It turns out you actually get a little more daylight than darkness on the equinox, depending on where you are on the planet. How does that happen? The answer is a bit complicated but fascinating.
    As the US National Weather Service explains, the "nearly" equal hours of day and night are because of the complex way a sunrise is measured and the refraction of sunlight in our atmosphere.
    This bending of light rays "causes the sun to appear above the horizon when the actual position of the sun is below the horizon." The day is a bit longer at higher latitudes than at the equator because it takes the sun longer to rise and set the closer you get to the poles.
    So on fall equinox, the length of day will vary a little depending on where you are. Here are a few breakdowns to give you an idea:
    -- At the equator: About 12 hours and 6 and half minutes (Quito, Ecuador; Nairobi, Kenya; and Singapore are all close to the equator)
    -- At 30 degrees latitude: About 12 hours and 8 minutes (Houston, Texas; Cairo, Egypt; and Shanghai, China)
    -- At 60 degrees latitude: About 12 hours and 16 minutes (Helsinki, Finland, and Anchorage, Alaska)
    For the truly equal day/night split, you have to wait a day after the official equinox. That day is called the equilux, and it's on Wednesday, September 23, this year.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  9. #9
    Marvelous!!!

  10. #10
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    ttt 4 2021

    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    What a strange half year it's been...
    What a strange year and a half it's been...

    Gene Ching
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  11. #11
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    ttt 4 2022

    Missed updating this yesterday but I did get the Songshan Shaolin Temple Day post.
    Gene Ching
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    ttt42022

    Here are 5 things to know about the autumnal equinox 2022, the debut of astronomical fall
    Roberto Villalpando
    Philip Joens
    Des Moines Register

    For traditionalists who still use the sun to tell time, fall finally arrives Thursday with the autumnal equinox. Before we break out the pumpkin spice lattes and go shopping for Halloween costumes, here are five things to know about this annual astronomical event:

    What is the autumnal equinox?

    During the autumnal equinox, the sun shines directly on the equator, and the northern and southern hemispheres get the same amount of rays. The alignment officially occurs this year at 8:03 p.m. Thursday. Clouds notwithstanding, Des Moines will get about 12 hours and 10 minutes of daylight.

    What does equinox mean?

    The Earth spins on a tilted axis as the planet orbits the sun. But twice in the course of that yearlong trip around the sun, the Earth is not inclined toward or away from the sun. Each of those instances is an equinox, which is derived from the Latin words for equal (aequus) and night (nox).

    But after the autumnal equinox, the northern hemisphere of the Earth begins to tilt away from the sun, so nights will get longer and days will grow shorter until the winter solstice, which will be on Dec. 21.

    Why is it important?

    For ancient societies, the autumnal equinox marked the end of summer and the vernal (or spring) equinox marked the end of winter, which helped people track time-sensitive activity, such as when to plant crops. According to the Farmers’ Almanac, the changing colors of the leaves on deciduous trees is actually triggered by the shorter days with reduced amounts of daylight.

    Forecasters' fall started Sept. 1.

    Meteorologists prefer a calendar in which the seasons start on the same days every year because it can provide consistency in record-keeping, among other reasons. But the Earth, sun and stars don’t quite conform to the Gregorian calendar — thus the autumnal and vernal equinoxes — as well as the winter and summer solstices — don’t fall on the same day every year. The autumnal equinox falls on Sept. 23 next year, but then it goes back to Sept. 22 in 2024.



    Philip Joens covers public safety, city government and RAGBRAI for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-443-3347 at pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.
    Anyone celebrating?
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  13. #13
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    ttt42023

    It's been a long cold winter here. Eager for spring.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  14. #14
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    ttt42023.2

    Sorry I missed this update last Friday.

    Welcome to the fall...
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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