Embracing the Equinox

Embracing the Equinox

This (not to scale) image shows how our planet receives equal amounts of sunlight during equinoxes. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Genna Duberstein

Scenes of Earth from orbit from season to season, as viewed by EUMETSAT. Notice how the terminator - the line between day and night - touches both the North and South Poles in the equinox images. See how the shadow is lopsided for each solstice, too: sunlight pours over the Northern Hemisphere for the June solstice, while the sunlight dramatically favors the Southern Hemisphere for the December solstice. Source: bit.ly/earthequinox Images: NASA/Robert Simmon