Equalnights Table

The word Equinox means “equal night”, however, the date when day and night are equal varies depending on where you live relative to the Equator. For Cornwall, the Equinox falls on Sep 22, 2020, whereas the equalnight falls on Sep 25.

Source: Freeman, Gordon R. Canada’s Stonehenge: Astounding Archaeological Discoveries in Canada, England, and Wales. Calgary: Kingsley Pub., 2009.

When Day = Night
Date	Latitude
from Equator to N Pole
Feb 3 – 9	3° N
Feb 25 – 26	5° N
Mar 7-8	10° N
Mar 13-14	20° N
Mar 15-16	30°N
Mar 16-17	40° N
Mar 17-18	50-80° N
Mar 18 the Sun rises	90° N
from S Pole to Equator
Mar 22 the Sun sets	90° S
Mar 22-23	50-80° S
Mar 23-24	30-40° S
Mar 26-27	20° S
Mar 31-Apr 1	10° S
Apr 14-15	5° S
Apr 3-May 6	3° S
from Equator to S Pole
Aug 9-12	3° S
Aug 28-29	5° S
Sep 10-11	10° S
Sep 16-17	20° S
Sep 18-19	30° S
Sep 19-20	40-60° S
Sep 20-21	80° S
Sep 20 the Sun rises	90° S
from N Pole to Equator
Sep 24	90° N
Sep 24-25	60-80° N
Sep 25-26	40-50° N
Sep 26-27	30° N
Sep 29-30	20° N
Oct 5-6	10° N
Oct 17-18	5° N
Nov 4-10	3°N

Day = Night

The Equinox is a total misnomer

Contrary to popular opinion (including my own for much longer than I care to admit), the Equinox is not the day when the day and night are equal. It’s the day when the Sun’s zenith occurs over the Equator.

When you experience day and night as equal depends on where in the world you live. Here’s a convenient table:

Think Temporally, Act Locally

The Time and Space of the Here and Now.

We’ve laid out an imaginary grid over the Earth, which we measure in degrees, minutes, and seconds. Above marks one of the centres of North America, in the territory of Dakota, Lakota, Santee, and/or Yanktonai peoples.

In very rough terms, we use this coordinate system to pinpoint any given location on Earth (and along with elevation, in all three dimensions). Our place in this grid is also a guide as to how we experience time.