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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