Day, night get equal time Monday as fall begins

Day and night will get equal time for a brief moment Monday as much of the world heads into fall.

The autumnal equinox arrives Monday at 1:19 p.m., marking the start of the fall season for the Northern Hemisphere and the spring in the Southern Hemisphere. On the equator, the sun will be directly overhead at noon. Equinoxes are the only times when both the north and south poles are lit by sunshine at the same time.

In the Northern Hemisphere, sunlight will gradually diminish each day until the winter solstice on Dec. 21.

Equinoxes have been marked and celebrated worldwide for centuries. The fall equinox is often connected with harvest festivals in the Northern Hemisphere.

But what is the equinox? As the Earth travels around the sun, it does so at an angle.

For most of the year, the Ear