Why Do the Seasons Change?

Introduction

Do you ever wonder why the seasons change? Well this website will tell you why and how the seasons change. We all know the four seasons, winter, spring, summer and fall. The seasons change based on the Earth’s movement.

Seasons

Winter, spring, summer, and autumn are four seasons in a year. The year is split into these four seasons. The seasons change as the tilt of the Earth changes in relation to the sun. The sun warms the Earth. When the Earth tilts away from the sun, it is winter.

A Trip Around the Sun

The Earth moves around the sun one time in 365 days, or a year. A season lasts about three months. The four seasons last one year. It takes the Earth one year to revolve around the sun.

 While the Earth is busy circling each day it travels along a huge oval trail around the sun. This trail is called the Earth’s orbit. When the Earth orbits the sun, each location on the planet gets a different amount of sunshine. This amount of sunshine changes slightly each day causing the seasons.

The Earth’s Axis

Every day the Earth does an entire rotation on its axis. The Earth's axis is a pretend line going through the Earth at both the North Pole and South Pole. Seasons happen because of the tilt of the Earth’s axis. The rotation of the Earth is not straight but it’s slightly tilted. 

The Hemispheres 

The Earth is divided into two halves called hemispheres. Over a year’s time the Earth travels around the sun in its orbit. The tilt of the Earth’s axis aims a hemisphere towards the sun or away from the sun making the seasons happen. Because of the Earth’s tilt, the sun points toward the Northern Hemisphere for half of the year and the Southern Hemisphere for half of the year. As a result the seasons of the Earth change.

The Earth’s Equator 

The Equator is a line you can’t see that divides the Earth in half. When it’s winter in the upper half, it’s summer in the lower half and vice versa. The tilt of the Earth affects the seasons in two ways: the angle of the sun on the Earth and how long the days are. For half of the year the Earth is tilted so the North Pole is more aimed at the sun. The other half of the year the South Pole is more aimed at the sun. 

For example, if the North Pole is angled toward the sun, then the part of the Earth north of the equator gets more sun making longer days and shorter nights. 

Conclusion

All the Earth’s movements cause our four seasons to happen. The Earth’s tilt and location to the sun makes a Hemisphere warm or cold. For example, June 21st is the first day of summer when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted closest toward the sun than any other time of the year. It’s the summer solstice, the longest day of the year!