Reason for Seasons

Reason for Seasons

Kimberly Holbrook

GLG/150

May 4, 2015

Robert Holbrook

Reason for Seasons

                                                     Misconceptions

There are a few misconceptions about why we experience seasons here on earth. Some of the most common ones are:

• We experience different seasons because of Earth’s changing distance from the sun
• It is winter because it is cold and summer because it is hot
• The Sun always rises in exactly the east and sets exactly in the west
• The seasons change because Earth’s tilt itself changes.

The Actual Reason for Seasons

          The actual reason Earth experiences seasons is, Earth rotates on its axis as it revolves around the Sun. The North Pole always points toward Polaris (the North Star). As the Earth rotates around the Sun its axis remains tilted 23.5 degrees in the same direction. However the direction of the Earth's tilt in respect to the Sun does change, causing the seasons. When the Northern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, we experience summer, and the Southern hemisphere experiences winter because they are tilted away from the Sun.(Lambert & Sundburg, 2010)

[pic 1]

(Elliot, 2013)

Planets and Seasons

        There are three other planets in our solar system that experience seasons. They are Mars, Saturn, and Neptune. They experience seasons because they have almost the same tilt as the Earth. Because they are further from the Sun their summers are much colder and last much longer. Mars’ summer lasts about twice as long as Earths, and its orbit is also not quite a circle, causing winter in one hemisphere. Saturn’s seasons last seven years and Neptune’s summer lasts 40 years because their orbit is much further away from the sun.