Tag Archives: autumnal equinox

September 25, 2019

Scenes From a Walk

Enjoying a nice morning!

I’ve definitely been feeling the wear and tear of my age lately. These past few weeks especially, a variety of things has conspired to do considerable pounding on my emotional balance. Simply put, it’s been a shitty transition into fall with the looming dark and cold of winter (the Autumnal Equinox was this past Monday).

And since I have an electrician coming tomorrow to try to solve the power outages that have affected half the circuits in my home, it ain’t over yet. On the other hand — counting blessings — the weather is finally fall-like (we had a bout of hot muggy misery last week); I’ve been really enjoying my morning walks; and I read one of the most delightful and brilliant science fiction books.

I’ll tell you about the book this coming Sci-Fi Saturday. Today I thought I’d show you why I love my morning walks!

16 Comments | tags: autumnal equinox, electrical current, electricity, equinox, walking | posted in Life

September 23, 2015

Twins: Final Dozen

By Wyrd Smythe

Go Twins!

It’s officially fall, the season named after what the leaves are doing now (at least in places where they came up with the word, “fall”). Did you ever notice how the two seasons of transition both are named after action verbs? Or how appropriate those verbs are to the cycle of life happening in those transitions? Life springs forth to sunny summer and falls asleep to weather winter.

The autumnal equinox was at 08:21 UTC. Here in middle America, by a standard we call “Central,” summer fell at 3:21 AM. I slept through it, so I didn’t hear any noise it might have made. (Sometimes you can hear a distant thud, but that might be a whole bunch of leaves coincidentally all falling at once.)

Today also marks the final dozen (exciting!) games for my Minnesota Twins!

5 Comments | tags: autumnal equinox, baseball post-season, baseball season, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, equinox, fall, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Major League baseball, Minnesota Twins, MLB, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Twins 2015, Win Twins | posted in Baseball

September 22, 2013

Darkness Ahead!

By Wyrd Smythe

The Seasons Those who know me know that I’m not big on calendar holidays. Even my birthday tends to pass without fanfare. That comes from being single, the island that supposedly no one is. After a lifetime of Christmas and New Years’ being ordinary days, you get used to it.

But I do honor the Solar Event Days because (as I’ve mentioned many times) light is so important to me (and because I’m a geek). Christmas may not mean much to me, but the Winter Solstice does! The days finally start getting longer! Summer Solstice is a day of mourning for the opposite reason.

Today — the Autumnal Equinox — marks the halfway point.

9 Comments | tags: autumnal equinox, Earth, equinox, fall, moon, POV-Ray, summer, Sun, winter | posted in Basics, Science

September 22, 2012

Sideband #42: Half Time

By Wyrd Smythe

Tonight’s sky holds a half-moon that looks somewhat like the picture on the right. Can you tell me, just by the picture, is the moon getting bigger or getting smaller?

Of course, the moon isn’t really changing size. We use the shorthand “bigger” and “smaller” to refer to how much of the moon we see. Or more properly, how much of the moon is illuminated by the sun. Or even more properly, how much of the moon’s surface facing the Earth is illuminated by the sun.

You can see why we often just say it’s getting “bigger” or “smaller!” Or we can use the terms waxing (getting bigger) and waning (getting smaller).

So, can you tell, from the picture, is the moon tonight waxing or waning?

13 Comments | tags: autumnal equinox, equinox, moon, moon phases | posted in Science, Sideband