The autumnal equinox arrives in the Northern Hemisphere today at 4:02 pm EDT! The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this view of fall colors around the Great Lakes on Sept. 26, 2014. The changing of leaf color in temperate forests involves several causes and reactions, but the dominant factors are sunlight and heat. Since temperatures tend to drop sooner and sunlight fades faster at higher latitudes, the progression of fall color changes tends to move from north to south across North America from mid-September through mid-November. Credit: Jeff Schmaltz NASA GSFC #NASA #earth #MODIS #fallfoliage #seasons