Why does Earth have Seasons?
Posted on 03. Nov, 2010 by raiders1 in Nature
The Earth spins like a top rotating in space,orbiting around the sun. Picture a line running through the Earth,
from North to the South pole, and then picture that line running out into space in both directions. This is called the axis of rotation. The Earth is tilted at an angle of about 26° and because of this tilt the climate changes on Earth to give us our seasons.
It takes the Earth a full year to orbit the sun. When it is Summer time in the northern hemisphere the Earth is tilted so the North poles is pointing toward the Sun. At this time the south pole is furthest away from the Sun which causes it to be Winter time in the southern hemisphere. Then it will be just the opposite when the North pole is tilted away from the Sun and the South pole is pointing toward the Sun.
Imagine that the planets are trying to get as much sun as possible. They point the flat part so that they are facing in the direct sunlight. When this happens at an angle, the do not get as much energy.
That is what is happening to Earth. In the Summer time, the sunlight is practically falling directly on Earth around the northern hemisphere and heating it up, while in the southern hemisphere, light is falling at a very low angle and does not hit the ground with as much energy. Earth has seasons because of the tilt of the axis of rotation.
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