Crosswords8 mins ago
1St Day Of Autumn
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Someone told that it is the first day of Autumn today, but it seems a tad early for that...what is the official day please ?
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.I was always told that I was an Autumn baby (20th August), my bolshie daughter recently told me that August was in the Summer - so I checked. August 1st is the feast of Lammas - which is the first day of Autumn, historically, and the start of harvest. Harvest, of course, just precedes Winter. Hope that helps.
There's no (single) 'official' day for the start of any season. Different people use different definitions.
For example (since the sun reaches its highest point in the sky around that date), midsummer's day (aka the summer solstice) is on June 21st, with the winter solstice (with the sun at its lowest point in the sky) being on December 21st. Assuming all of the seasons to be of equal length, each season must about 91 days long, so the start and finish of summer must therefore be roughly 45 days either side of June 21st, making the last day of summer around August 12th.
However while that method of deciding when each season starts and ends might find favour with astronomers, it doesn't fit very well with most people's perceptions of when the seasons actually occur. Meteorologists have a far simpler way of looking at it: June, July and August are the warmest months in the UK, so those three months fall into 'summer'. That means that September, October and November form 'autumn'. December, January and February make up 'winter', while March, April and May are grouped together as 'spring'.
For example (since the sun reaches its highest point in the sky around that date), midsummer's day (aka the summer solstice) is on June 21st, with the winter solstice (with the sun at its lowest point in the sky) being on December 21st. Assuming all of the seasons to be of equal length, each season must about 91 days long, so the start and finish of summer must therefore be roughly 45 days either side of June 21st, making the last day of summer around August 12th.
However while that method of deciding when each season starts and ends might find favour with astronomers, it doesn't fit very well with most people's perceptions of when the seasons actually occur. Meteorologists have a far simpler way of looking at it: June, July and August are the warmest months in the UK, so those three months fall into 'summer'. That means that September, October and November form 'autumn'. December, January and February make up 'winter', while March, April and May are grouped together as 'spring'.
Interestingly, I see that Pastafreak has given the (21st or) 22nd of September as the start of autumn.
I've come across that definition before but it's totally illogical since it's the date of the vernal equinox (when day and night are the same length).
So, according to the way that astronomers work (since June 21st is MIDsummmer's day and December 21st is MIDwinter's day), 22nd September should be MIDautum day. i.e. it';s the MIDDLE of autumn, NOT the start of it!!!
I've come across that definition before but it's totally illogical since it's the date of the vernal equinox (when day and night are the same length).
So, according to the way that astronomers work (since June 21st is MIDsummmer's day and December 21st is MIDwinter's day), 22nd September should be MIDautum day. i.e. it';s the MIDDLE of autumn, NOT the start of it!!!
//Interestingly, I see that Pastafreak has given the (21st or) 22nd of September as the start of autumn.
I've come across that definition before but it's totally illogical since it's the date of the vernal equinox (when day and night are the same length).//
Surely the vernal equinox is in springtime, i.e. late March, or am I wrong?
I've come across that definition before but it's totally illogical since it's the date of the vernal equinox (when day and night are the same length).//
Surely the vernal equinox is in springtime, i.e. late March, or am I wrong?
nothing to do with logic, Buenchico. People can call "summer" anything they like, as you say, and while some think June 21 is misdummer, I just think it's the longest day. I'd go with the meteorogists' call, while recognising that others disagree; but of course it isn't true everywhere in the world. In many parts, the only seasons are wet and dry.
saw this a little while ago:
http:// www.the guardia n.com/e nvironm ent/201 4/jul/0 1/early -signs- of-autu mn-alre ady-app earing- in-natu ral-wor ld
it seems that nature already feels it is autumn :-
http://
it seems that nature already feels it is autumn :-