Earth Rotation and Revolution

So, The Earth Rotates (SPINS)

Yep!

When it is night on our little section of Earth, we see the Moon.
We see it because the Sun's light is reflecting off of the Moon!
It takes the Moon 28.5 days to make one revolution around the Earth. At each stage, the part of the Moon we see changes, which is called Moon phases (more on that later)
The movement of the Earth and Moon also creates daily changes in the ocean tides

In this diagram, you can see the Earth rotating. But look! It is also revolving around the Sun! The Earth revolves counter-clockwise around the Sun

It takes 365 days (or 365 rotations!) for the Earth to make one revolution around the Sun.

The Earth is split into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres with the Equator line in the center.

The sun rays are consistently direct in the Equatorial area, so that's why they have those tropical temperatures year round!

It is often thought that winter happens when the Earth is farthest from the Sun (because our orbit is an ellipse) but that is not true!

Earth is actually closest to the Sun in... JANUARY!

So then, what's the reason for the seasons?

We know that we don't just jump from summer to winter.

At the "in-between" points in orbit, the sun rays are more evenly distributed, which causes Autumn and Spring.

When a hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, the sun rays are indirect so the temperature is colder (colder = winter)
When a hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, the sun rays are direct so the temperature is warmer (warmer = summer)

In the summer, the Earth is tilted toward the Sun.
The Sun rises highest in the sky during this time
The shadows will be long in the morning/evening and very short at noon (there may not even be any shadows when the Sun is directly above you!)

In the winter, the Earth is tilted away from the Sun.
- The Sun doesn't rise as high in the sky during this time
- The shadows will be longer throughout the day

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