Known
as fall in North America, autumn astronomically begins on
the autumnal equinox (when the tilt of the Earth's axis
is oriented neither from nor to the Sun causing the Sun
to be located vertically above a point on the equator) and
ends on the winter solstice (when the tilt of the Earth's
axis is most oriented away from the Sun). The autumnal equinox
occurs between September 22 or 23 in the Northern Hemisphere
and on March 20 in the Southern Hemisphere. The winter solstice
ending autumn occurs on December 21 or 22 in the Northern
Hemisphere and June 21 in the Southern Hemisphere.
Meteorological
autumn is the season when summer transitions into winter.
In the Northern Hemisphere, meteorological autumn covers
the entire months of September, October and November. In
the Southern Hemisphere, meteorological autumn covers the
entire months of March, April and May.
Before
the 16th century, autumn was known as the harvest season.
However, as the population migrated from the farms to the
cities the term fell out of favor.
Besides
known as the season for harvesting crops, autumn is also
associated with brightly colored foliage. The two regions
of the world most famous for this natural phenomenon are
North America (Canada and the United States) and Eastern
Asia (China, Korea, and Japan). Though not as dramatic,
the autumn "changing of the leaves" can also be
seen in parts of Europe, Argentina, Australia, Chile and
New Zealand. In ancient China, autumn was known as White
Tiger.