#Equinox fall 2017 full

In early January, the sun is closest (known as perihelion) to the earth and in early July it is most distant (aphelion) from the earth. The Equinox and Solstice dates aren’t fixed due to the Earth’s elliptical orbit of the sun. Solstices and equinoxes are astronomical transition points between the seasons and mark key stages in the astronomical cycle of the earth.Įach year there are two equinoxes (spring and autumn) and two solstices (summer and winter). This makes it easier for the statistical comparison of monthly and seasonal meteorological observing and forecasting. The seasons are split according to our Gregorian calendar. The meteorological seasons are split in to four periods made up of three months each. But you Thought it was Autumn Already? The Meteorological Seasons Both equinoxes and solstices are related to the Earth’s orbit around the sun.

The astronomical calendar determines the seasons due to the 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth’s rotational axis in relation to its orbit around the sun. The 21 December is the Winter Solstice which has the longest night (and shortest day) and signifies the starts of astronomical winter… The astronomical autumn begins on 22 September 2017 and ends on 21 December 2017. That is unless you go by the meteorological season when autumn begins on 01 September 2017 and ends on 30 November 2017. So autumn officially starts today!!! What better time to share the beauty of Keats’ poem. The autumn equinox signifies the astronomical start of autumn. That’s when the day and night are the same length. I wasn’t very good at that! But I remember the whole of the first verse. We had to learn it by rote in school when I was 11 or 12. Something about it keeps coming back to me.

#Equinox fall 2017 full

However, I’ve been thinking about this poem since late August when I was camping and looking at apple trees full of fruit. I find myself stopping and thinking about this poem often in the autumn (it is hard to find enough time to be able to stop and think about autumn and the changing of the seasons let alone appreciate the poetry). It knows autumn so well and describes it perfectly.