\n <\/p>\n<\/section>\nDuring equinoxes, which happen twice a year, the Earth’s axis is not tilted toward or away from the sun, resulting in nearly equal periods of daylight and darkness worldwide. The term “equinox” is derived from Latin, meaning “equal night,” indicating the balance between day and night during these events.<\/p>\n
At the equator, the sun shines directly overhead at noon during equinoxes due to this alignment. The “nearly” equal hours of day and night is due to refraction of sunlight, or a bending of the light’s rays, that causes the sun to appear above the horizon when the actual position of the sun is below the horizon. Additionally, the days become a little longer at higher latitudes farther from the equator, because it takes the sun longer to rise and set.<\/p>\n
Seasonal changes are driven by the Earth’s axial tilt of 23.5 degrees as it orbits the sun, exposing different hemispheres to varying sunlight angles and durations throughout the year. Equinoxes mark the moments when the sun rises due east and sets due west for most places on Earth.<\/p>\n