Welcome to the first day of astronomical fall, marked by today’s Autumn Equinox - a day equally split between light and dark.

For those of you who don’t normally celebrate this doorway into a new season, we’ll give you a quick primer on what it actually is, and then we’ll have some fun telling you about the traditions - and superstitions - that this day underlines.

First, we officially welcome the Autumn Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere on Monday at 2:19 p.m.

It’s the day and time when the Sun is exactly above the Earth’s equator, NASA says. This means the Earth is not tilted toward or away from the sun, so our day and night are each roughly 12 hours long.

The sun also rises due east on this day and sets due west. The Old Farmer’s Almanac will tell you that today is a good day to set

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