First Day Of Fall To Usher In Beautiful Season In NYC

NEW YORK CITY – The meme for the start of 2020' fall says it all: “I thought you were talking was about the fall of civilization until I realized you meant autumn.”

Even in the midst of a pandemic, few things are more beautiful than fall in New York City – and it officially arrives Tuesday.

The fall equinox ushers in the new season Sept. 22 with its promise of crisp air, show-stopping leaf displays and cool evenings.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed a lot of our fall rituals, but the parks still promises a stunning display and the quieter-than-normal city is amazing to walk in as the temperatures cool.

The autumnal equinox isn’t a daylong event but rather occurs at the exact moment the sun crosses the celestial equator — that’s at 9:31 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

We’re also coming up on the end of Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, Nov. 1. Yes, darkness will fall earlier in the evening. But that also means you won’t have to stay up all night to see a half-dozen fall and winter meteor showers.

SEE ALSO: Fall Foliage Peak Map Shows When To Leaf Peep In NYC, Northeast

The word equinox comes from the Latin words “aequus,” which means “equal,” and “nox,” which means night. That’s led to the perception that everyone worldwide sees the same amount of daylight and nighttime, but it’s not the absolute truth. To be precise, daylight lasts about eight minutes longer than nighttime on the day of the equinox.

Here are five other things to know about the September equinox:

1. There’s no guarantee, of course, but the chances of seeing stunning aurora borealis displays increase after the fall equinox, according to NASA. Both the spring and fall equinoxes are good aurora seasons, but autumn produces a surplus of geomagnetic storms — almost twice the annual average.

2. The date of the September equinox varies. Usually, it’s on the 22nd, as it is this year, or the 23rd, but it can occur as early as Sept. 21 or as late as Sept. 24.

A Sept. 21 autumnal equinox hasn’t occurred in several millennia, but some folks alive today may see it the next couple of times it rolls around, in 2092 and then again four years later in 2096. And the first day of fall hasn’t fallen on Sept. 24 since 1931, and that won’t happen again until 2303.

Here’s the reason: A year is defined as 365 days by the Gregorian calendar, but it takes the Earth 365-¼ days to orbit the sun. What this means is the autumnal equinox occurs about six hours later than it did the year prior, which eventually moves the date by a day.

3. Thank Canada for spectacular fall sunsets with more vivid pinks, reds and oranges than at any other time of the year. The Weather Channel offers an explanation: As dry, clean Canadian air begins to sweep across the country, fewer colors of the rainbow spectrum are scattered by air molecules. That means the reds, oranges, yellows and pinks make it through for your sunset-viewing pleasure.

4. No matter where you are in the world, the sun will rise due east and set due west during the fall equinox (the same thing happens during the spring equinox). For the directionally challenged, it’s a good time for a reset. Go outside around sunset or sunrise, find a landmark and mark the sun’s location in relation to it.

5. Fall isn’t just a time for the human world to start buttoning things up outside. It’s rutting — or mating — season for deer, elk and moose, and males will battle it out by thrusting their antlers together until one of them gives up or dies.

Many birds begin their migration south. Frogs burrow deep into mud holes to wait out the winter. Chipmunks retreat to their underground tunnels. Bears eat and drink almost nonstop as they prepare for hibernation.