Autumn equinox arrives
The gist
The autumn equinox arrives Sept. 22, 2026, at 8:05 p.m. EDT, starting astronomical fall.
Day and night aren't exactly equal then, and daylight is shrinking fastest all year.
How it unfolded
- Sep 15, 2026Farmers' Almanac says the autumn equinox arrives Sept. 22, 2026, at 8:05 p.m. EDT.
- Sep 16, 2026cleveland.com reports the equinox arrives at 8:05 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, the instant the sun's center crosses Earth's equatorial plane from north to south, per NASA.
- Sep 18, 2026delawareonline reports the equinox occurs at 8:04 p.m. EDT on Sept. 22 per the Old Farmer's Almanac, and that some international calendars may list Sept. 23 due to time zones.