FALL OFFICIALLY ARRIVES on the North Olympic Peninsula and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere this afternoon.
The autumnal equinox will be at 1:44 p.m. PDT, and at precisely the same moment north of the equator around the world.
That moment marks exactly the time the sun crosses directly over the Earth’s equatorial plane — in the daylight half of the globe in this case.
North of the equator, it’s the autumnal equinox and the beginning of fall.
South of the equator, winter is officially over with the arrival of the vernal equinox — spring — at the same precise moment.
Translated literally, equinox means “equal night.” Because of the sun’s positioning, day and night are about equal in length all over the world.
