Fall Equinox 2012 Date: Sunrise and Sunset Times for New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Philadelphia

The sun sets during the September or autumnal equinox at the Kokino megalithic observatory (Photo : Reuters)

The Autumnal Equinox, which signals the start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere, took place at exactly 10:49 a.m. EDT and 7:49 a.m. PDT on Saturday.

Saturday's equinox is defined by TimeandDate as "the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator -the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth's equator-from north to south." During both the spring and fall equinoxes, the Earth's axis is parallel to that of the sun. The term equinox comes from a conjunction of Latin words that translates to "equal night," representing the idea that night and day are both precisely 12 hours globally. However, there is a smidge of false advertising attributed to the event.

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Worldwide day length varies despite the positioning of the earth to the due to atmospheric light refraction and the commonplace understanding that sunrise is defined as the first sight of the sun rather than its center. Below, Latinos Post has listed the times for sunrise and sunset in the United States' top five cities.

New York's sunrise will occur at 6:44 a.m., with a sunset at 6:54 p.m. Day Length: 12h 10m

Los Angeles' sunrise will occur at 6:41 a.m., with a sunset at 7:00 p.m. Day Length: 12h 24m

Chicago's sunrise will occur at 6:38 a.m., with a sunset at 6:49 p.m. Day Length: 12h 11m

Houston's sunrise will occur at 7:10 a.m., with a sunset at 7:19 p.m. Day Length: 12h 9m

Philadelphia's sunrise will occur at 6:48 a.m., with a sunset at 6:59 p.m. Day Length: 12h 10m.