It's the End of the Summer as We Know it and I Feel Fine

OR NOT!

Over the last few days, I have had several people ask me “What are you doing for Labor Day weekend?” My general reply is “Not much.” I usually get an astonished look followed by “But why not, it’s the end of summer?” It makes me want to scream! Labor Day weekend is NOT the end of summer.

Summer ends on the autumnal equinox. The season changes when the center of the Sun crosses the celestial equator. This is near September 22. This year it is Sept. 23, 2006 at 4:02 UT which for us in Oklahoma is 10:02pm Sept. 22, 2006.

Here is a chart showing the time summer ends for 1980 to 2009. In Oklahoma, our time is UT -6, so subtract 6 hours from the time listed.

Date	UT	Date	UT	Date	UT
09-22-1980	21:01	09-23-1990	07:06	09-22-2000	17:11
09-23-1981	02:50	09-23-1991	12:54	09-22-2001	23:00
09-23-1982	08:38	09-22-1992	18:43	09-23-2002	04:48
09-23-1983	14:27	09-23-1993	00:32	09-23-2003	10:37
09-22-1984	20:15	09-23-1994	06:20	09-22-2004	16:25
09-23-1985	02:04	09-23-1995	12:09	09-22-2005	22:14
09-23-1986	07:52	09-22-1996	17:57	09-23-2006	04:02
09-23-1987	13:41	09-22-1997	23:46	09-23-2007	09:51
09-22-1988	19:29	09-23-1998	05:34	09-22-2008	15:39
09-23-1989	01:18	09-23-1999	11:23	09-22-2009	21:28

Here is a link that shows a QuickTime move illustrating the tilt of the Earth’s equatorial plane relative to the Sun which is responsible for the seasons. The dates of maximum tilt of the Earth’s equator correspond to the summer and winter solstices and the dates of zero tilt are the vernal and autumnal equinoxes.