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Twice a year, day and night, fall into balance, lasting for nearly equal length. Known as equinoxes, Latin for equal night, they occur in March and September and along with solstices mark the changing of seasons as Earth travels around the sun.
一年有兩次，晝夜平衡，時長幾乎相等。在拉丁語中，equinoxes（二分日）是“晝夜相等”的意思，出現(xiàn)在3月和9月，它們和二至日一起標志著地球圍繞太陽運轉造成的季節(jié)變化。
Astronomers like to describe the equinox within the conceptual celestial sphere. Here the heavens are projected around the Earth, like an enormous planetarium. The model is bisected by the celestial equator, a projection of Earth's own equator. The equinox occurs at the point at which the sun's path or ecliptic crosses the celestial equator. In spring it is known as the vernal equinox, and in fall the autumnal equinox.
天文學家喜歡在假想的天球中描述春秋分。在天球中，天空被投射到地球周圍，就像一個巨大的天文館。這個模型被天球赤道平分，天球赤道是地球自身赤道的投影。二分日通常出現(xiàn)在太陽的路徑或黃道與天球赤道相交時。春天是春分，秋天是秋分。
The other two seasonal points on the sun's path are the two solstices; in the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice marks the longest day of the year, while the winter solstice marks the shortest. The seasonal aligning of the sun has been more than just a unique celestial event for humankind throughout history. Ancient sites like Stonehenge in England and Machu Picchu in Peru have well documented solar alignments during the solstices.
太陽路徑上的另外兩個季節(jié)點是兩個至日；在北半球，夏至是一年中白晝最長的一天，而冬至則是最短的一天。對歷史上的人類來說，太陽的季節(jié)性移動不僅僅是一個獨特的天體事件。像英格蘭的史前巨石陣和秘魯?shù)鸟R丘比丘這樣的古代遺址詳細記錄了二至日時太陽的移動。
Similarly, the equinoxes have been associated with some amazing man-made phenomena. In the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itz the great pyramid known as El Castillo is oriented along cardinal axis. During the equinoxes, shadows cast by the railings create the illusion of a writhing serpent body, descending the northern steps where it joins the carved serpent's head at the base of the stairway. The cultural significance of the fall equinox and changing of seasons continues today, especially in the northern hemisphere, where the autumnal equinox occurs around harvest season.
同樣，二分點也與一些令人驚異的人造現(xiàn)象有關。在古瑪雅城市奇琴伊察，被稱為埃爾卡斯蒂略的大金字塔沿主軸建造。在二分日，欄桿投下的陰影仿佛蛇扭曲的身體，從北邊的臺階往下延伸，在階梯的底部與雕刻的蛇頭會合。秋分和季節(jié)變化的文化意義一直延續(xù)到今天，尤其是在北半球，秋分發(fā)生在收獲季節(jié)。
In fact, the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox is commonly referred to as the harvest moon. In China and other Asian countries, this time is celebrated with the mid-autumnal festival; the origins are linked to the birth of the moon goddess and festival traditions revolve around families with reunions and feasts and special moon cakes. In Jewish culture, thanks for the harvest is given during the week long Feast of the Tabernacles or Sukkot. Families eat meals in temporary shelters outside, recalling the Israelites' days in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt.
事實上，最接近秋分的滿月通常被稱為收獲的月亮。在中國和其他亞洲國家，人們在這個時候會慶祝中秋節(jié)；中秋節(jié)的起源與月亮女神的誕生有關，中秋節(jié)的傳統(tǒng)主題是家庭團聚、盛宴和特殊的月餅。在猶太文化中，人們會慶祝為期一周的住棚節(jié)(Sukkot)以感激豐收。一家人在外面的臨時住所里吃飯，回憶以色列人出埃及后在曠野里的生活。
