Last Updated on August 5, 2021 by
Oddly enough the earth is about 3,000,000 miles nearer to the sun in our northern winter than it is in summer. Yet it is much warmer in summer. The reasons are not by different distances from the sun, the slant of the earth’s axis as it around the sun. Scientists have learned that the Equator of the earth is tilted 2 degrees to the path of the earth around the sun. As the earth moves around the sun, the earth’s axis always points in the same direction, towards the North Star.
For this reason, during part of the year, the North Pole tilts towards the Run and part of the year away from it. When the North Pole is inclined towards the sun, the Northern Hemisphere has its summer. When the North Pole has inclined away from the sun, the Northern Hemisphere has its winter. In the Southern Hemisphere, these seasons are reversed.
The difference in weather with the seasons occurs because the sun’s rays arc more slanting in winter and less slanting in summer. Slanting rays produce less heat for two reasons. One is that they scatter their heat over a larger area of the earth’s surface. The other is that they lose mom of their heat in passing through the atmosphere.
Other factors, primarily water, land, and altitude, help regulate the climate. Water has a stabilizing effect and helps prevent great changes in temperature. Land does not store up the heat (the way the ocean does), so big temperature changes can take place over large land areas. The air grows less dense with altitude and cannot absorb as much heat as at sea level. So the higher the altitude, the lower the temperature.
How Much Closer Are We To The Sun In Summer?
At its closest point, Earth swings to within 91,399,453 miles (147,093,162 km) of the sun. That’s in contrast to six months from now when the Earth reaches aphelion – its most distant point – on July 5, 2021. Then we’ll be 94,510,889 miles (152,100,533 km) from the sun.
Why is it warmer in the summer and not winter?
A: The summer is warmer because of the Earth’s tilt and the sun’s angle, while the winter is cooler because of the Earth’s tilt and the Earth’s shadow.
What are some signs that fall is coming?
It brings with it the changing of the seasons, new leaves on trees, Morning dew begins to appear, and the wonderful smells of baking apples, pumpkins, and chestnuts. But with the season comes the inevitable fact of cooler temperatures. And with cooler temperatures comes the inevitable change of things.
What causes Earth’s seasons?
Scientists think that the seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth’s axis, which is due to the Earth’s rotation on its axis and its revolution around the sun. Earth’s rotation and revolution around the sun are caused by the gravitational force of the moon and the sun.
