Monday, Sept. 22, is the official start to fall.

NEW YORK — Monday, September 22nd marks 2008’s autumnal equinox in the northern hemisphere. So that means there will be equal lengths of day and night, right? Almost.

Despite the fact that the word “equinox” comes from the Latin words for “equal” and “night,” daylight hours will beat out nighttime by 7 to 10 minutes today.

The equinox is actually the moment at which the center of the sun is positioned directly over the earth’s equator, and marks the beginning of autumn, astronomically speaking. This year, autumn begins at 11:44 a.m. EDT. The days of equal day and night, known as equiluxes, occur around October 15 at a latitude of five degrees in the northern hemisphere, and around September 26 at a latitude of 40 degrees.

Equinoxes have been celebrated as holy days in cultures all over the world. Pagans in ancient Britain and Ireland built huge stone structures like Stonehenge in order to determine when they would arrive. In Wicca, the harvest festival Mabon is celebrated on the autumnal equinox.

One myth that has persisted into modern times about equinoxes is that on the day they occur, an egg can be balanced on end. While eggs can indeed be balanced on end, it has nothing to do with the position of the sun.