BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- Fall kicks-in on Sunday Sept. 22. "Autumn" is the season of the year that is the transition period from summer to winter, occurring as the sun approaches the winter solstice. For forecasters, tracking the weather and monitoring the climate Meteorological autumn (different from standard/astronomical autumn) begins Septe. 1 and ends Nov. 30. Weather Wednesday: Winter precipitation But the "Autumnal Equinox" is the point at which the sun approaches the Southern Hemisphere, marking the start of astronomical autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. There are only two times of the year when the Earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in a "nearly" equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes. These events are known as Equinoxes. The word equinox is derived from two Latin words - aequus (equal) and nox (night).At the equator, the sun is directly overhead at noon on these two equinoxes. The "nearly" equal hours of day and night are due to the 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. Never miss a story: Make KGET.com your homepage Additionally, the days become a little longer at the higher latitudes (those at a distance from the equator) because it takes the sun longer to rise and set. Therefore, on the equinox and for several days before and after the equinox, the length of day will range from about 12 hours and six and one-half minutes at the equator, to 12 hours and 8 minutes at 30 degrees latitude, to 12 hours and 16 minutes at 60 degrees latitude. Fall will officially begin on Sunday, Sept. 22, at exactly 5:44 a.m. Happy Fall! It's going to be close to 100 degrees on Monday.