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Guide to the
EQUINOXES and SOLSTICES
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SOLSTICE
SUMMER SOLSTICE: The first day of the Season of Summer. On this day (JUNE 21 in the northern hemisphere*) the Sun is farthest north and the length of time between Sunrise and Sunset is the longest of the year.
WINTER SOLSTICE: The first day of the Season of Winter. On this day (DECEMBER 22 in the northern hemisphere*) the Sun is farthest south and the length of time between Sunrise and Sunset is the shortest of the year.
* In the southern hemisphere, winter and summer solstices are exchanged. Summer: December 22. Winter: June 21.
EQUINOX
Two times of the year when night and day are about the same length. The Sun is crossing the Equator (an imaginary line around the middle of the Earth) and it is an equal distance from the North Pole and the South Pole.
SPRING EQUINOX: The first day of the Season of Spring - and the beginning of a long period of sunlight at the Pole. In the northern hemisphere: MARCH 20 (the Sun crosses the Equator moving northward). In the southern hemisphere: SEPTEMBER 22 (the Sun crosses the Equator moving southward).
AUTUMN EQUINOX: The first day of the Season of Autumn - and the beginning of a long period of darkness at the Pole. In the northern hemisphere: SEPTEMBER 22 (the Sun crosses the Equator moving southward). In the southern hemisphere: MARCH 20 (the Sun crosses the Equator moving northward).
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