Six ads prepared for EQ by Jonny Biggins. Click here for the next instalment
EQ’s planet vacation guide: Pluto (3 of 6) (Jan ’25)
equinoxes
my idea to promote equinoxes as Earth Action Days has resided here for a while…
… but on 21st September 2026, after preparation with a steering team this personal project entered a new phase with the launch of a new particpatory website (click image)…
…and these blog pages have a new purpose: to offer perspectives on what equinoxes offer, and represent a back story of EQ. And if you have landed here first, these are the unique attributes of equinoxes which form the bedrock of the project:
1) Equinoxes are true planet events
Fixed moments of balance every spring and autumn in Earth’s orbit around the sun
2) We are equal under the sun at equinox
Equal day and night – 12 hours – wherever you are on the planet
3) Two equinoxes double up our annual commitments to act
Pledge twice a year to spring into action and turn over a new leaf at equinox
So many of our problems cross boundaries, continents and oceans – above all, the climate-nature crisis. At a planetary level, so much more unites us than divides. Equinoxes are ideal moments to rebalance and reconnect, to energise our instincts to innovate, adapt, and preserve.
Twinned equinoxes can help us accelerate towards a sustainable post-carbon future.
© Martin Nelson 24th September 2026
The universal rising and setting sun at equinox: some global hotspots
This list is far from exhaustive; local knowledge will know of (or work out with map and compass) equinoctial photo hotspots…
… and if a flat horizon isn’t available, but your shot adds to the story – go for it!
Photos can be taken on modern smartphones, but a zoom camera will capture the best images, especially if the viewpoint is high on a headland, building, upper deck, etc…
To check timezone approximated (≠ 30 mins of solar or sundial) times of sunrise and sunset Google the information for a nearby city on the same line of longitude to your location or use this website:
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?iso=20240922T1243&msg=September%20equinox%202024
Sunrise due East flat horizon 6am solar time
OCEANIA
Pacific Islands, New Zealand Christchurch, Australia Great Barrier Reef, Brisbane, Sydney
ASIA
Japan, China Shanghai, Hong Kong
SE Asia: Singapore
S Asia: India Chennai, Sri Lanka Trincomalee
Middle East: Muscat, Doha, Kuwait
EUROPE
Greece, Italy Venice, Rimini, Syracuse, Norway, Sweden, Denmark
UK east-facing coast Dover, Flamborough Head, Aberdeen, John O’Groats (Duncansby Head)
Ireland Dublin, France, Spain Barcelona, Valencia, Gibraltar
AFRICA
Tunisia, Egypt, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, South Africa Durban
AMERICAS
North: Canada Toronto US Boston, Miami, Milwaukee, Chicago
Central, Caribbean: Mexico Cancun
South America: Guyana, Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Uraguay Montevideo, Argentina Buenos Aires
Sunset due West flat horizon 6pm solar time
OCEANIA
Pacific Islands Honolulu, New Zealand, Australia Perth, Adelaide
ASIA
Japan Nagasaki bay, China Hong Kong
SE Asia: Philippines Manila, Singapore
S Asia: Bangladesh Chittagong India Mumbai, Goa Pakistan Karachi, Sri Lanka Colombo, Galle
Middle East: Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia Jeddah, Gaza, Israel Tel Aviv, Lebanon Beirut
EUROPE
Greece, Croatia Dubrovnik, Italy Trieste, Bay of Naples, Norway, Sweden Gothenburg, Denmark, Netherlands The Hague
UK west-facing coast Land’s End, Gower, Blackpool, Iona
Ireland, France Le Havre, Marseille, Biarritz, Spain Vigo, Cadiz, Portugal Porto, Lisbon (Cascais), Iceland Reykjavik
AFRICA
Morocco Casablanca, Senegal Dakar, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gabon, Angola, Namibia, South Africa Cape Town
AMERICAS
North: Canada Vancouver, US San Francisco, Los Angeles
Central America, Caribbean: Barbados Bridgetown, Mexico
South America: Colombia Cartagena, Ecuador, Peru Lima, Chile
Appendix 1: inland lakes and plains with both sunrise and sunset available
Uganda: Lake Victoria USA Great Lakes, Utah: Great Salt Lake
The plains of East Africa, central Canada & USA, eastern Europe and Russia could produce images of semi-circular setting suns on a flat horizon
Bonus images: from within the Arctic Circle. Double Bonus: from Antarctica
Appendix 2: Headlands and islands with both sunrise and sunset available
Ecuador Galapagos Islands, Greece Rodos Town, Shetland Sumburgh head, NW Scotland Cape Wrath, SW Scotland Mull of Galloway, S England Isle of Wight (Bembridge-Needles), The Lizard, Portland Bill, Portugal Sagres, S Africa Cape Town (Cape of Good Hope), Mexico Baja California (S tip)
and don’t forget shipping: ferries, cruise liners, yachts could provide an excellent opportunity.
© Martin Nelson. 28th August 2024
® registered to WMO Nelson
® registered to Equinoctial Days Ltd.
Spring equinox ’24. Brean Beach again and a teaser: did we get the ‘money shot’?
The highly-praised movie we made last year lacked one crucial image; that of the sun setting into the horizon precisely due west at exactly 6pm*. This – with the dawn due east 12 hours earlier – is the unique and universal property of equinoxes. The entire biosphere experiences it. It’s the USP of EQ and why Brean Beach and Down were chosen as our location: Continue reading
Autumn equinox 2023: the launch of EQ – the movie
There was no post for Spring equinox 2023, but I was certainly busy, because at equinox adventurer-filmmaker James Levelle and I were on the beach, filming. Brean Beach and Down on the Bristol Channel are aligned N-S and E-W; ideal for explaining equinoxes and promoting EQ’s positive and universal message, and the sand under the cliffs perfect for raking out a large EQ™ logo. The plan was hurriedly put together on the phone, and in fine morning sun we met – for the first time – on the beach. Continue reading
Reflections after COP 27 – Grain and Coal
A year ago, before COP26, I reflected upon the bald statement made in LIFE, the popular mainstream magazine, way back in 1953: ‘Man himself … may be the cause of our warming climate’. Now, after COP27, with some anaemic progress chalked up, what personal experiences resonate with global events and deliberations? Well, during a summer visit to NE Poland, on a riverboat trip in Gdansk, we witnessed bulk carriers loading grain and unloading coal… Continue reading
COP 26 – a personal perspective
‘The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 10% in the last 50 years…Man himself then, may be the cause of our warming climate.’ Nothing unremarkable at first glance, but reading this a few weeks ago stopped me in my tracks. Why?
EQ’s planet vacation guide: Mars (1 of 6)
Six ads prepared for EQ by Jonny Biggins of The Book of Everyone, showing in rotation. Can’t wait for the next instalment? Click here
Pledge card ideas and template
NB November 2023: this page was mounted just as Covid-19 struck, and forgotten. It awaits completion with a downloadable pledge card.
Please download the Pledge Card image above (right click), then print, or share on social media.
You are the Early Adopter of a bottom-up initiative, as yet unfunded, but which will surely grow.
You can make suggestions in the reply box, which will be moderated and added to the four categories as appropriate. Thanks for helping to build the project!
SOMETHING EASY
short sharp showers
feed the birds
buy seasonal produce
SOMETHING HARD
no flights: flights halved
organise an event: start a campaign
no meat: meat for a treat
SOMETHING MEASURED
Bike miles: walking steps
my/our carbon footprint
home kwh: transport fuel total/mpg
SOMETHING SHARED
write to my MP:
charity/friendship link abroad
donate time: talent: blood: food
ALTOGETHER WE’RE PREPARED!
altogether now!
altogether = equal under the sun
altogether on the case
Thank you!
©Martin Nelson March 2020
EQ’s planet vacation guide: Earth (6 of 6)
Six ads prepared for EQ by Jonny Biggins of The Book of Everyone, showing in rotation. Can’t wait for the next instalment? Click here
EQ’s planet vacation guide: Neptune (5 of 6)
Six ads prepared for EQ by Jonny Biggins of The Book of Everyone, showing in rotation. Can’t wait for the next instalment? Click here
EQ’s planet vacation guide: Mercury (4 of 6)
Six ads prepared for EQ by Jonny Biggins of The Book of Everyone, showing in rotation. Can’t wait for the next instalment? Click here
EQ’s planet vacation guide: Venus (2 of 6)
