Why are there seasons?
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Why are there seasons? |
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| Are the seasons a results of changes in the
distance from the Earth to the sun? No, they are not. In fact, the earth is closest (147
million kilometers) to the sun in January and farthest (153 million
km)
from the sun in July. There are seasons because the Earth's axis of
rotation is tilted 23 degrees, as the diagram below shows. In June, the
northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun. Because of this, the
sunlight has a more direct path to the surface. There are also more hours
of sunlight during the day. This makes it warmer and it is summer in
the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere, the sunlight has a
longer path to the surface and the days are shorter in June. It is winter in the
southern hemisphere. |
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To learn more about the seasons check: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/fsd/astro/season.htm |
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