Group Q The Seasons

On Earth, we have four seasons. Spring,Summer,Autumn and Winter. When it is summer in the North, It is Winter in the south.We have seasons because the Earth Is tilted.

The Earth's Tilt
The Earth's axis is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees. This means that the Earth is always "pointing" to one side as it goes around the Sun. So, sometimes the sun is in the direction that the Earth is pointing, but not at other times. The varying amounts of sunlight around the Earth each year, creates the seasons. We have hot summers and cold winters because of the tilt of the Earth's axis.The tilt of the Earth means the Earth will lean towards the Sun (Summer) or lean away from the Sun (Winter) 6 months later. In between these, Spring and Autumn will occur.
juneSolstice.gif
important side factsThe Earth revolves around the Sun.
The North pole always points the same way as the Earth revolves around the Sun.
The Earth's movement around the sun causes the seasons.
p_scie_ec_01855_16x9.jpg
During a year

The Earth takes 365.24 days to orbit the sun. As we move around the Sun during the year, the amount of light each area of the planet receives varies in length.

When the Earth's axis points towards the Sun, it is summer for that hemisphere. When the Earth's axis points away, winter can be expected.
Since the tilt of the axis is 23 1/2 degrees, the north pole never points directly at the Sun.
space_p11.jpg

Autumn

The north pole begins to move away from the Sun. The Sun rises lower in the sky so the days start getting shorter. When the Sun is at its mid-point in the sky, we reach the 'autumn equinox', around 22 September. Day and night are both 12 hours long and its the beginning of autumn.
3528-autumn-forest.jpgSpring
The Earth continues on its path, and our north pole starts moving towards the Sun again. The Sun moves upwards in our skies and the days continue getting longer. Again, we reach a midpoint when day and night are both 12 hours long. This is called the 'vernal (or Spring) equinox' and happens around 21 March.
635959260028272675858524941_Nature-Spring-013.jpg

Summer
During the summer, the sun's rays hit the Earth at a steep angle because the sun is higher in the sky. The light does not spread out very much, thus increasing the amount of energy hitting any given spot. The long daylight hours during the summer months allow the Earth plenty of time to reach warm temperatures. This is why the days are hotter in the summer months.

Because the sun is higher in the sky our shadows are shorter than they are in the the other three seasons.
3ExD7K1.jpgWinter
During the winter, the sun's rays hit the Earth at a shallow angle because the sun is lower in the sky. These rays are more spread out, which minimizes the amount of energy that hits any given spot. The long nights and short days prevent the Earth from warming up. This is why we have cold winters.
winter-pics-14.jpg

The Length of the day and night varies throughout the year
Summer is warmer and winter is colder because of the length of our days and nights.
In the summer daylight lasts longer and night time is shorter.
In winter the days are shorter and the nights longer.There is more time for the sun to warm us during long summer days. And short winter days have long, cold nights.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License