Life's Seasons: Autumn To Fall

Autumn. Some of us call it Fall. And the latter name is believed to have originated not because of the fall of leaves from the trees, but because it is the season when the sun falls below the equator to spring back up again six months later.

In polar regions, it is the season of nightfall as local inhabitants prepare for the extended winter night. Indeed, the autumnal equinox at the Pole is the day when the sun falls below the horizon, not to return for six dark months.

And, if we define the period such that the equinox is at the mid-point (the solar seasons), the Fall season encompasses those days when the daylength is falling most rapidly, perceptibly so in the higher latitudes.