12/2/2023 0 Comments Solstice vs equinox definitionThis is an excerpt from the Space Systems Exploration unit of our curriculum product line, STCMS TM. For example, in Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost city in the United States, they experience 4 months of complete sunlight from May to August and complete darkness from November to January. The farther you get from the equator, the bigger the difference there is in seasons and sunlight. Without tilt, the angle of the Sun is always the same, so the equator receives the same amount of warmth and light year round. This is because the middle of Earth does not tilt much as Earth rotates on its axis. People that live at the equator do not experience four seasons. Having four seasons is typical for people that live above and below Earth’s equator. Therefore, we all experience about the same amount of daylight and darkness. During this time, both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are exactly the same angle from the Sun. This is when the spring and fall equinoxes occur. Image: Smithsonian Science Education CenterĪround March 21 and September 21, Earth is angled approximately 90 degrees away from the Sun (a right angle). During that same time, the Southern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun and has fall and winter. This is also when the days are shorter and the nights are longer.īetween March 21 and September 21, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun and has spring and summer. During this time, the Sun appears lowest in the sky, with the least angle to Earth, and we receive less sunlight and warmth. This means that at the northern summer solstice, North America will experience summer, and winter will start in in the Southern Hemisphere.Īround December 21, the Northern Hemisphere tilts the farthest away from the Sun. This is called the northern winter solstice, and it is when we have the least amount of daylight of any time of the year. The seasons in Earth’s Northern Hemisphere are always opposite those in the Southern Hemisphere. This is when the days are longer and the nights are shorter. The higher the Sun is, the more sunlight and heat Earth receives. It is also when the Sun appears to be the highest in the sky, and it has its greatest angle to Earth. This is called the summer solstice, and it is when the Northern Hemisphere has the most daylight of any time of the year. In North America, around June 21, Earth tilts on its axis toward the Sun. Image: Smithsonian Science Education Center The angle of the Sun above the horizon is much greater in summer than in winter. In the winter, Earth tilts away from the Sun. Sometimes Earth tilts toward the Sun, which is when summer occurs. As Earth revolves around the Sun, it rotates on its axis. It takes Earth about 365.25 days to complete one entire revolution around the Sun, which gives us 1 year. Earth’s rotation on its axis takes approximately 24 hours, which is why we have day and night. This means that the north and south poles of our planet are not straight up and down as we orbit the Sun they are always at an angle. Earth also tilts on its axis at 23.5 degrees to this orbital plane. Think of this as a flat disk, with the Sun at the center, extending out toward the edges of our solar system.Īs Earth travels in its orbital plane, it is held in place by the Sun’s gravitational field. Almost all of these objects also travel in the orbital plane. This is called a heliocentric (sun-centered) orbit. So what’s going on?Īll of the planets and bodies in our solar system orbit the Sun. However, Earth is closer to the Sun in December and January and farther away from the Sun in July and August. Some people think that the seasons occur because of Earth’s distance from the Sun. Seasons are caused by Earth’s changing position as it revolves around the Sun. Earth’s four seasons are spring, summer, fall, and winter. Seasons are times on Earth that have very specific weather patterns and hours of daylight. I f you have ever gone swimming in summer or had a snowball fight in winter, then you know something about seasons.
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