Autumn Equinox Trivia: Season of Change

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The following claims were verified through Perplexity Sonar before the questions were finalised. The host can reference any of them during play:

• The autumn equinox occurs when the sun crosses the celestial equator, marking the start of astronomical autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.
• The word equinox is derived from the Latin words aequus, meaning equal, and nox, meaning night, referring to the nearly equal length of day and night.
• Because the solar year is approximately 365.24 days long, the date of the autumn equinox can shift between September 21 and September 24.
• During the equinox, the sun rises almost exactly due east and sets almost exactly due west for observers across the globe.
• In Japan, the autumn equinox is observed as Higan, a Buddhist tradition where families visit and clean ancestral graves to reflect on the transition of life.
• Mabon is a modern Pagan and Wiccan festival celebrated during the autumn equinox as a time of gratitude for the second harvest and preparation for winter.
• At the Maya site of Chichen Itza in Mexico, the equinox sun creates a shadow effect on the El Castillo pyramid that resembles a serpent slithering down the steps.
• The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, often aligned with the seasonal change, is celebrated with mooncakes, lanterns, and family gatherings to honor the harvest moon.
• The Russell-McPherron hypothesis suggests that the Earth's tilt during an equinox allows more solar particles to enter the atmosphere, potentially increasing geomagnetic activity.