Today the Sun crosses the celestial equator [
http://www.astro.wa…naked-eye.html#A1.2. 4 ] heading south -- marking the Autumnal Equinox, the first day of Autumn. Equinox means "equal night" and with the Sun on the celestial equator [
http://www.physics.…], Earthlings will experience 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. Then, for those in the northern hemisphere, the days will begin to grow shorter with the Sun marching [
http://www.lalc.k12…] lower in the sky as winter approaches [
http://www.astro.wa…naked-eye.html#A1.2. 4.5 ]. A few weeks after the Autumnal Equinox of 1994, the Crew of the Shuttle Endeavor [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] recorded this image [
http://images.jsc.n…] of the Sun poised above the Earth's limb. The glare illuminates Endeavor's vertical tail (pointing toward the Earth) along with radar equipment [
http://southport.jp…] in the payload bay.
Explanation
Today the Sun crosses the celestial equator [
http://www.astro.wa…naked-eye.html#A1.2. 4 ] heading south -- marking the Autumnal Equinox, the first day of Autumn. Equinox means "equal night" and with the Sun on the celestial equator [
http://www.physics.…], Earthlings will experience 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. Then, for those in the northern hemisphere, the days will begin to grow shorter with the Sun marching [
http://www.lalc.k12…] lower in the sky as winter approaches [
http://www.astro.wa…naked-eye.html#A1.2. 4.5 ]. A few weeks after the Autumnal Equinox of 1994, the Crew of the Shuttle Endeavor [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] recorded this image [
http://images.jsc.n…] of the Sun poised above the Earth's limb. The glare illuminates Endeavor's vertical tail (pointing toward the Earth) along with radar equipment [
http://southport.jp…] in the payload bay.
Explanation
