Autumn Officially Started Today at 9.50 am

We’re sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it’s now official – summer is sadly over for another year.

Autumn has officially started today (September 23) at 9.50 am on the Peninsula, as reported by the National Astronomical Observatory, which depends on the National Geographic Institute and adds that it will last 89 days and 20 hours, until December 22 begins winter.

According to the Observatory, throughout the autumn Mars will be visible at dawn and after sunset, Venus, Saturn and Jupiter will be seen. In addition, on November 11 there will be a transit of Mercury ahead of the Sun that can be seen in America, Africa, and Europe and, also from Spain.

This transit did not take place since May 9, 2016, and after this November 11, it will not be repeated until November 13, 2032. Transits are the apparent passage of a planet ahead of the surface of the sun. From a planet, according to the IGN, you can only see the transits of the innermost planets to it in the solar system. Earth observers can see the transits of Mercury about thirteen times per century and those of Venus, about thirteen times per thousand years.

On November 11 it will be visible in its entirety in South America, in Central America, eastern North America, the westernmost tip of Africa and in the Canary Islands. The beginning of the transit can be observed from western Asia, Europe and Africa and the end from North America and the Pacific Ocean. In total the phenomenon will last 5 hours and 29 minutes.

Rain of Stars

Also, during the fall you can observe several episodes of starfall. The first one, the Draconids, will occur between October 6 and 10 and the maximum observation will be on day 8.

The Orionids will take place between October 2 and November 7, although their maximum observation will arrive on October 18. The third of the three-star showers will be the Leonids, which will begin on November 7 and end on November 30 and its maximum will be on November 17.

Finally, at the end of the season, the Geminids can be observed between December 4 and 17 and the maximum observation day will arrive on December 14.

What is the Autumn equinox?

An equinox is a phenomenon which only happens twice a year – once during spring and once again in the autumn.

It happens when the sun positions itself exactly above the equator between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere.

For those in the Northern Hemisphere, the autumn equinox marks the beginning of autumn and for those in the southern it marks the beginning of spring.

Once the equinox hits in the autumn the nights become longer than the day, while the opposite happens after the spring equinox.

The term “equinox” stems from the Latin word “equi,” meaning equal and “nox,” meaning night.