Fall is here: What that means, and when we change the clocks

Summer has finally ended, and the country will embrace autumn on Monday.

What is the autumnal equinox?

Dig deeper:

During the autumnal equinox, the Earth’s axis and its orbit line up so that both hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlight.

The word equinox comes from two Latin words meaning equal and night. That’s because on the equinox, day and night last almost the same amount of time — though one may get a few extra minutes, depending on where you are on the planet.

Difference between meteorological and astronomical seasons

Why you should care:

Meteorological seasons are defined by the weather. They break down the year into three-month seasons based on annual temperature cycles. By that calendar, spring starts on March 1, summer on June 1, fall on Sept. 1 and winter on Dec. 1.