ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Today marks the autumnal equinox, or the first day of astronomical fall. Have you ever wondered why it occurs on a different day and at a different time each year? Let's break it down! Credit: NWS Let's start with the basics. The word equinox is derived from the Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night). During the Winter Solstice, we have the shortest day in the northern hemisphere and on the Summer Solstice, we have the longest day! So, that means that our days will continue to get shorter until the winter solstice. Credit: NASA As of 8:44 a.m. this morning marks the start of the first day of Fall (astronomically speaking)! The Autumnal Equinox marks the change in seasons from summer, to, of course, fall. During the Autumnal Equinox, the globe receives roughly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night because the Earth is not tilted toward or away from the sun. Credit: NWS Our sunrise time today was 6:58 a.m. and our sunset tonight will be at 7:06 p.m. giving us just a little over 12 hours of daylight. As we get closer and closer to the winter solstice, which is the shortest day of the year, we will continue to lose daylight. So, make sure you are enjoying the amount of daylight we have now before it starts getting dark at 430pm again!