Sunday, September 22 marked the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. At 5:44 AM (in Central Oregon) the sun was shining directly on the equator and all parts of Earth had nearly equal amounts of day and night (we wind up with a bit more daylight due to atmospheric refraction and using the top of the sun to mark both its rise and set). As Earth proceeds in its orbit of the sun, Earth’s axial tilt will place the Northern Hemisphere in decreasingly direct sunlight—the September equinox marks the beginning of astronomical fall as our days become shorter than our nights. Learn more from NOAA, NASA Space Place, National Geographic Education, or Space.com.
In Central Oregon, our latitude (44.06°N at our Bend office) means daylight will decrease from just over 12 hours today to just under 9 hours at the solstice on December 21, 2024. You can determine exact sunrise and sunset times for your precise location using the NOAA Solar Calculator. The time for each equinox and other seasonal phenomena can be found using the US Naval Observatory’s Earth’s Seasons Calculator.
Enjoy our glorious Central Oregon fall!