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My last article talked about galaxies far away. This time, let’s come back to our “small” solar system. Over the years, you have likely heard of equinox and solstice, but what are they exactly? Essentially, they are the days that mark the start of a new season.
Let’s start with the equinoxes. The word itself comes from the Latin word ‘aequus’ and ‘nox’. These mean ‘equal’ and ‘night’ respectively. On those days, our planet’s axis is tilted parallel to the sun. In other words, there is not one pole that points toward the sun more than the other. This results in the day being almost as long as the night everywhere in the world. It may be a little different at the poles on the axis itself, but everywhere else, people should feel this strange phenomenon. Another strange phenomenon experienced on those days is seen at the equator. At midday, the sun appears perfectly above the ground, and some objects will not cast a shadow. That’s right! If the floor is leveled and the object doesn’t have slanted edges, it won’t cast a shadow. One such object could be a cardboard bug or a box of tissues. Fair warning to those who try to witness this phenomenon, it only occurs on the equatorial line and only if the floor is leveled correctly. At distances further from the equator or on slanted surfaces, a small shadow may be seen.
There are two equinoxes—the vernal equinox and the autumnal equinox. The former marks the start of the Spring, the latter that of the Autumn (aka. fall). As a matter of fact, the vernal equinox is March 21. Mark your calendars because the equinox is in 11 days!
As for the Solstices, the axis of the Earth is bent toward the sun. The summer solstice, which marks the start of the summer, is the moment at which the North part of the axis points toward the Sun. Places at the North of the equator will experience the longest day of the year because the North is more exposed to the sunlight. Meanwhile, places in the South will experience the longest night of the year. Since the South points away from the sun, the Earth will block most of the light of the sun for a longer period of time. Places near the equator will not see the difference a lot, however, the more one moves away from that central latitude, the more the effect is felt. So much so that the North and South will be kept in the dark and light for more than one Earth rotation around its axis, i.e. they will go more than one day in the dark. In fact, people in Antarctica will experience months of nighttime! The situation reverses during the winter solstice.
Personally, I like looking at the etymology of words. We have discussed the Latin origins of equinoxes; let’s look at the Latin roots of solstices. The word is made of the Latin words ‘sol’ and ‘sistere’. The former refers to the sun and the latter means “to stand still”. That’s right, during those days, the sun seems as if it’s barely moving.
Surprisingly, there is still plenty to learn about these unique dates. The simple fact that they mark the start of the seasons shows that the sunlight is responsible for the four famous seasons. It also explains why the people near the equator experience the effects of the seasons less. For more discovery, I will refer you to the sources below and to additional personal research.
Sources
This article talks about the equinoxes and the solstices specifically relating to the seasons. It describes a little how the position of the planet influences the seasons. It also goes over the basic definitions of the words.
This article also talks about the days and their meaning regarding seasons. Additionally, it talks about the temperatures and lengths of days that one will most likely experience during the days and those proceeding them. Furthermore, it is a great resource to learn about weather events in general.
I used this to understand the origins of the words. That being said, the website also includes information about the days. It even has links at the end to describe each solstice and equinox in detail.
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