Why do we have seasons? Isn't elliptical path of the Earth responsible for it? And why?
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Please do read it carefully.
WHY DO WE HAVE SEASONS? Our year is divided up into four seasons: summer, fall, winter, spring. Unless you live at the equator, you've likely noticed that each season has slightly different weather patterns. Generally, it's warmer in spring and summer, and cooler in autumn and winter. Ask most people why it is cold in the winter and warm in the summer and they'll likely tell you that Earth must be closer to the Sun in the summer and farther away in the winter.
This seems to make common sense. After all, as you get closer to a fire, you get warmer. So, why wouldn't closeness to the Sun cause the warm summer season?
While this is an interesting observation, it actually leads to the wrong conclusion. Here's why: Earth is farthest from the Sun in July each year and closest in December, so the "closeness" reason is wrong. Also, when it is summer in the northern hemisphere, winter is happening in the southern hemisphere, and visa versa. If the reason for the seasons was solely due to our proximity to the sun , then it should be warm in both the northern and southern hemispheres at the same time. Something else must be the primary cause. If you really want to understand the reasons for the seasons, you need to look at our planet's tilt.
IT'S A MATTER OF TILT The biggest reason for the seasons is that Earth's axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane
It may be that way because of a large impact in our planet’s history that could be responsible for the creation of our moon . The infant Earth was smacked pretty heavily by a Mars-sized impactor. That caused it to tip over on its side for awhile as the system settled down. Eventually the Moon formed and Earth's tilt settled to the 23.5 degrees it is today.
It means that during part of the year, half of the planet is tilted away from the Sun, while the other half is tilted toward it. Both hemispheres still get sunlight, but one gets it lmore directly when it's tilted toward the Sun in summer, while the other gets it less directly during winter (when it is tilted away).
When the northern hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, it people in that part of the world experience summer. At the same time the southern hemisphere gets less light, so winter occurs there.
IT'S HOTTER AT HIGH NOON TOO Here's something else to think about: Earth's tilt also means that the Sun will appear to rise and set in different parts of the sky during different times of year. In the summertime the Sun peaks almost directly overhead, and generally speaking will be above the horizon (i.e. there will be daylight) during more of the day. This means that the Sun will have more timeto heat the surface of the Earth in the summer, making it even warmer. In the winter, there's less time to heat the surface, and things are a bit chillier.
You can actually see this change of apparent sky positions for yourself. Over the course of a year, notice the position of the Sun in the sky.
In your summertime, it will be higher in the sky and rise and set at different positions than it does in the wintertime. It's a great project for anyone to try. All you need is a rough drawing or picture of your horizon to the east and west. Then, just glance out at the sunrise or sunset each day, and mark the positions of sunrise and sunset each day to get the full idea.
BACK TO PROXIMITY So does it matter how close Earth is to the Sun? Well, yes, in a sense. But, not the way you might expect. Earth's orbit around the Sun is only slightly elliptical. The difference between its closest point to the Sun and its most distant is little more than 3 percent. That isn't enough to cause huge temperature swings. It translates to a difference of a few degrees Celsius on average. The temperature difference between summer and winter is a lot more than that.
.
Please do read it carefully.WHY DO WE HAVE SEASONS?
Our year is divided up into four seasons: summer, fall, winter, spring. Unless you live at the equator, you've likely noticed that each season has slightly different weather patterns. Generally, it's warmer in spring and summer, and cooler in autumn and winter. Ask most people why it is cold in the winter and warm in the summer and they'll likely tell you that Earth must be closer to the Sun in the summer and farther away in the winter.
This seems to make common sense. After all, as you get closer to a fire, you get warmer. So, why wouldn't closeness to the Sun cause the warm summer season?
While this is an interesting observation, it actually leads to the wrong conclusion. Here's why: Earth is farthest from the Sun in July each year and closest in December, so the "closeness" reason is wrong. Also, when it is summer in the northern hemisphere, winter is happening in the southern hemisphere, and visa versa. If the reason for the seasons was solely due to our proximity to the sun , then it should be warm in both the northern and southern hemispheres at the same time. Something else must be the primary cause. If you really want to understand the reasons for the seasons, you need to look at our planet's tilt.
IT'S A MATTER OF TILTThe biggest reason for the seasons is that Earth's axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane
It may be that way because of a large impact in our planet’s history that could be responsible for the creation of our moon . The infant Earth was smacked pretty heavily by a Mars-sized impactor. That caused it to tip over on its side for awhile as the system settled down. Eventually the Moon formed and Earth's tilt settled to the 23.5 degrees it is today.
It means that during part of the year, half of the planet is tilted away from the Sun, while the other half is tilted toward it. Both hemispheres still get sunlight, but one gets it lmore directly when it's tilted toward the Sun in summer, while the other gets it less directly during winter (when it is tilted away).
When the northern hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, it people in that part of the world experience summer. At the same time the southern hemisphere gets less light, so winter occurs there.
IT'S HOTTER AT HIGH NOON TOOHere's something else to think about: Earth's tilt also means that the Sun will appear to rise and set in different parts of the sky during different times of year. In the summertime the Sun peaks almost directly overhead, and generally speaking will be above the horizon (i.e. there will be daylight) during more of the day. This means that the Sun will have more timeto heat the surface of the Earth in the summer, making it even warmer. In the winter, there's less time to heat the surface, and things are a bit chillier.
You can actually see this change of apparent sky positions for yourself. Over the course of a year, notice the position of the Sun in the sky.
In your summertime, it will be higher in the sky and rise and set at different positions than it does in the wintertime. It's a great project for anyone to try. All you need is a rough drawing or picture of your horizon to the east and west. Then, just glance out at the sunrise or sunset each day, and mark the positions of sunrise and sunset each day to get the full idea.
BACK TO PROXIMITYSo does it matter how close Earth is to the Sun? Well, yes, in a sense. But, not the way you might expect. Earth's orbit around the Sun is only slightly elliptical. The difference between its closest point to the Sun and its most distant is little more than 3 percent. That isn't enough to cause huge temperature swings. It translates to a difference of a few degrees Celsius on average. The temperature difference between summer and winter is a lot more than that.
