Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Happy Birthday Fall


Image: This picture was taken of a spider web, in the woods, as the sun was setting behind. The sun reflected off the spider in the middle and all the wings from the gnats' caught in the web. I thought it looked a lot like an illustration of the celestial planets. You may want to enlarge the picture to get the "effect."


The first day of Fall 2009 for the Northern Hemisphere (United States, Canada and most of Europe) begins on September 22, 2009 at 4:18 pm Central Standard Time.

Fall is also known as autumn - and lasts from the autumnal equinox (September 22, 2009) to the winter solstice (December 21, 2009).

The two instants when the Sun is directly overhead at the Equator are the equinoxes.

On the equinox, the sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west. This is true for both the fall and spring equinoxes. On two days of the year you can find the exact cardinal directions of East and West by using the sun. The ancients did this when they set up their calendars at Stonehenge and the Mayan pyramid, among others.

The autumnal equinox for the northern hemisphere is the vernal equinox for the southern hemisphere. Another way to say this is that when fall begins for the northern hemisphere, spring begins for the southern hemisphere.

Calendars of almost every nation and holidays of most every religion are based on the equinoxes and have been since thousands of years BC. Astrology, navigation systems and much of the reading of horoscopes are based on equinoxes.

Libra is the archaic name used by navigators and astrologers. The equinoxes where these equinoxes are located no longer correspond with the actual constellations once ascribed to them.
We can probably go through life never giving the equinoxes a thought but our plants (and most insects and wildlife) are going through converting to winter by this process. It is complicated and not fully understood on many levels.

We do know it's why our plants are going through the process of shedding leaves, annual plants dieing, insects finding winter havens, some birds flying south, and other birds and animals storing food. This is happening even though we have experienced no cold temperatures or otherwise "fall" days.

For those of us who enjoy the changing seasons, it's a time to enjoy another beautiful season of bright colors and the mysteries of our planet - even the Galaxy. Sit on the porch, take a drive, and soak up the autumnal process we are blessed to experience. Only too soon we will wake up to a day like they are experiencing in Colorado today - SNOW!

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