Welcome first day of fall

September 23, 2011

An eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly perches on a blazing star. Lori Ceier/Walton Outdoors

The autumnal equinox, the official first day of fall, is Friday, Sept. 23, 2011

On the autumnal equinox, the sun is directly over the earth’s equator, and there are equal hours of day and night. Since the summer solstice, days have been getting shorter, and from now until the vernal equinox, the days will remain shorter than nights.