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Understanding Earth's Seasons

The document discusses the causes of seasons on Earth and other planets. It explains that Earth's axial tilt of 23.5 degrees, combined with its yearly orbit around the sun, results in the hemispheres receiving varying amounts of sunlight over the course of the year. The seasons are caused by one hemisphere receiving more direct sunlight and experiencing longer days as it tilts towards the sun, while the other experiences cooler temperatures and shorter days as it tilts away. Other factors like a planet's orbital eccentricity and distance from the sun can also influence seasonal changes on other planets in the solar system.

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Divya Nayaka
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17 views14 pages

Understanding Earth's Seasons

The document discusses the causes of seasons on Earth and other planets. It explains that Earth's axial tilt of 23.5 degrees, combined with its yearly orbit around the sun, results in the hemispheres receiving varying amounts of sunlight over the course of the year. The seasons are caused by one hemisphere receiving more direct sunlight and experiencing longer days as it tilts towards the sun, while the other experiences cooler temperatures and shorter days as it tilts away. Other factors like a planet's orbital eccentricity and distance from the sun can also influence seasonal changes on other planets in the solar system.

Uploaded by

Divya Nayaka
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Seasons

What do your students think causes the seasons?

Images at [Link]

Created by the Lunar and Planetary Institute


For Educational Use Only
LPI is not responsible for the ways in which this powerpoint may be used or altered.

Lets Look at Some Data!


Temperatures around the World
Daylight hours

Average Daily Temperatures (F) in Tourist Cities


(from [Link] ))

January

April

July

October

CapeTown(SouthAfrica)

69

66

60

65

Caracas(Venezuela)

75

81

78

79

London(UnitedKingdom)

44

56

73

58

MexicoCity(Mexico)

66

77

73

70

Montreal(Canada)

22

51

79

56

Moscow(Russia)

21

47

76

46

Nairobi(Kenya)

77

75

69

77

Paris(France)

42

60

76

59

SanJos(CostaRica)

75

79

77

77

Seoul(Korea)

33

62

84

67

Singapore

86

89

87

88

Stockholm(Sweden)

31

45

70

48

Sydney(Australia)

79

73

62

72

Tokyo(Japan)

48

64

84

70

Decembe
r

True color images


March

June
September

Images at [Link]

Animation-Earths Life through


Seasons

Daylight Hours Across the Globe


Time is indicated as number of hours (h)

Miami

Jan
Feb
10.5 h 11 h

Brisbane

14.5 h

13.5 h 13.5 h 12.5 h

Nairobi

12 h

12 h

Punta Arenas

17.5 h 15.5 h
5h

7h

Mar
12 h

12 h

Apr
12.5 h

12 h

13.5 h 11.5 h
10 h

13.5 h

May
13 h
11 h
12 h
10 h

Jun
14 h

Jul
14.5 h

Aug
14 h

Sep
12.5 h

Oct
12.5 h

11 h

11 h

11.5 h

11.5 h

12.5 h

12 h
8.5 h

17.5 h 21.5 h

12 h
8.5 h

12 h
9.5 h

12 h
11.5 h

12 h

Nov
Dec
11 h
11.5 h
14 h
12 h

14.5 h
12 h

13 h

15 h

16.5 h

8.5 h

5.5 h

22 h

18 h

15.5 h

11.5 h

12 h

12 h

12 h

12 h

Nome
Singapore

12 h

12 h

15 h

14 h

Cape Town

9h

Seattle

24 h

10 h
24 h

12 h

12 h

13 h

13 h

13.5 h 12.5 h

11.5 h 10 h

11 h

13.5 h

15 h

14.5 h

0h

19 h

10.5 h

17 h

16.5 h

0h

0h

11 h

11.5 h

12.5 h

15.5 h

13.5 h

11.5 h

0h

7h

15 h

12 h

12 h

14 h

14 h

10.5 h

9.5 h

24 h

24 h

Vostok

[Link]

Lets Start with some Observations


Using free downloaded computer program,
Stellarium: [Link]
Stellarium is planetarium software that shows
exactly what you see when you look up at the stars.
It's easy to use, and free.

Lets look at sunrise & sunset, and Suns


height in the sky.

Height of Sun for USA


Winter: The Sun rises in the southeast,
stays low in the sky, and sets in the
southwest.
Spring: The Sun rises due east, moves
higher in the sky than in winter, and sets
due west.
Summer: The Sun rises in the northeast,
travels high (near zenith), and sets in the
northwest.
Fall: The Sun rises due east, travels to a
medium-height in the sky, and sets due

What Causes Earths Seasons?


Earths axis is tilted 23.5 degrees it always
points in the same direction (Polaris, the North
Star) as we orbit our Sun once a year
This tilt causes the hemispheres to alternate in
the amount of our Suns light and heat they
receive through the year

Image at [Link]

Northern Hemisphere Summer

More daylight hours, more direct sunlight

Image at [Link]

Earths orbit is almost a perfect


circle
Earth is CLOSEST to our Sun (91
million miles) in winterJanuary 3
Earth is farthest from on our Sun
(94 million miles) in summer July 4

Seasons on Other Planets


In some cases, the changing distances from
the Sun will affect the seasons.
In others, the axial tilt will make a huge
difference!

Image at [Link]

Image at [Link]

Seasons on Planets
Planet
Axial Tilt Eccent. Orbit
Perihelion
Aphelion
Mercury
0
0.21 88 days
28 mill. Miles 43 mill.
miles
Venus
177
0.01 224 days
Earth
23
0.02 365 days
91 mill. miles 94 mill.
miles
Mars
25
0.09 686 days
129 mill. miles 155 mill.
miles
Jupiter
3
0.05 12 years
Saturn
27
0.06 30 years
Uranus
98
0.05 84 years
Neptune
30
0.01 165 years

Mars Orbit and Seasons


At vernal equinox, Mars
is 145 million miles from
the Sun

At winter solstice, Mars


is 128 million miles
from the Sun

At summer solstice, Mars


is 153 million miles from
the Sun

At autumnal equinox,
Mars is 134 million miles
from the Sun
Original images from [Link]

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