California is losing daylight as we near autumn equinox. How early will it get dark?

The autumn equinox is just days away — which means leaves will begin to change color, temperatures will get cooler and days will turn to night much earlier.

This year’s autumn equinox lands on Sept. 23, marking the first day of fall in the Northern Hemisphere, according to NASA.

Here’s what you can expect.

What is the autumn equinox?

The autumn equinox signals the first day of fall. During an equinox, the sun will shine right over the equator, resulting in “equal amounts of day and night throughout the world,” according to NASA.

When will the sun set on Sept. 23?

The sun will set at 7:01 p.m. in Sacramento on Sept. 23, according to Time and Date, an online world clock.

How much sunlight will we lose?

As fall continues past the equinox, the days will progressively get shorter until the winter equinox on Dec. 21. That marks the shortest day and longest night of the year, according to the National Weather Service.

Sacramento will lose roughly a minute of sunlight each day in September.

By Sept. 30, the sun will set at 6:50 p.m. in the capital city. This will mean 46 minutes of sunlight will be lost between Thursday and the end of the month.

Sacramento will lose another 41 minutes of sunlight throughout October, according to Time and Date, with the sun setting at 6:07 p.m. on Halloween.

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