What is the importance of the 23.5 tilt of the Earth?
If you were living in the poles, what would your life be like? Cite some situations to support your answer.
Are solstices and equinoxes important to you? Why or why not?
If you were living in the poles, what would your life be like? Cite some situations to support your answer.
Are solstices and equinoxes important to you? Why or why not?
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About Our Seasons
What causes our seasons?
We have seasons because Earth's axis the imaginary line that goes through the Earth and around which the Earth spins - is tilted. It's tilted about 23.5 degrees relative to our plane of orbit (the ecliptic) around the Sun. As we orbit our Sun, our axis always points to the same fixed location in space. Our northern axis points almost directly toward Polaris, the North Star.
You may know that the solstices and equinoxes signal the changing of the seasons on Earth, but do you remember which is which? Are they just different names for the same thing? Actually, a solstice and an equinox are sort of opposites.
The seasons on Earth change because the planet is slightly tilted on its axis as it travels around the Sun. This means different points on Earth receive more or less sunlight at different times of year. If Earth were not tilted, the Sun would always appear to be directly above the Equator, the amount of light a given location receives would be fixed, and there would be no seasons. There also would be no need to mark equinoxes or solstices.