During an equinox, places around the globe experience nearly equal amounts of daytime and nighttime. The second occurrence this year happens on Sunday.

The Earth is prone to more geomagnetic storms during the spring and fall equinoxes than throughout the solstices.

The official first day of fall, otherwise known as the autumnal equinox, is this weekend in the Northern Hemisphere. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, it is one of only two days, the other being the vernal equinox, when the sun is directly above the Equator, essentially dividing night and day into equal portions.

Sept. 22, marks the first day of the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the Farmer’s Almanac. It begins approximately at 8:43 a.m. ET. Meanwhile, meteorological fall begins on Sept. 1 and makes it easier to keep seasonal weather records, according to FOX Weather.

On Sept. 22, the fall equinox formally heralds in autumn and marks the end of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

Twice a year, the sun doesn’t play favorites. Everyone on Earth is seemingly on equal status – at least when it comes to the amount of light and dark that they get.

The equinox has no relationship to Houston’s weather, and the city’s climate afterwards isn’t guaranteed to bring cooler or warmer temperatures.

The autumnal equinox brings fall to the Northern Hemisphere today as the sun passes directly over the equator at noon. But are day and night actually equal length today?