While busy in turning daily circles, the Earth is also traveling around the Sun, which is known as Earth’s orbit. Areas around the latitudes of the Arctic Circle etc receive lesser sunlight. The tilt leads to some areas around latitudes like the Equator and the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn to receive more sunlight. And this tilting of the axis causes a difference in the amount and kind of sunlight Earth receives over its entire surface area. This axis is not straight, it’s inclined at 23.5 degrees. The Earth’s axis is an imaginary line that runs between the north and south poles. One rotation is completed in 24 hours, which is one day for us.īut, here’s the interesting part – the inclination (angle or slant) of the Earth’s axis is important to understand. It is believed that the rotation is caused by the Earth’s magnetic field. The Earth rotates around its axis, spinning like a top. The Earth moves in two ways – rotation and revolving – here’s what the two mean Rotation Similarly, the equinoxes and solstices are dependent on the Earth’s revolution around the sun. Have you ever thought if we have a signal for the change in seasons? To understand all this, one needs to understand the Earth’s orbit and how it functions. Have you ever wondered why is there more daylight in summer than in winter? You would have seen a lot of different kinds of seasons in a year – have you ever thought about why seasons change? The equinoxes happen twice a year– once on 21 March and once on 23 September. The Equinox – either of the two times in a year when the Sun is right above the Equator and day and night are of equal length. This is marked by the longest and shortest days in the year (about 21 June and 22 December). The Solstice – either of the two times in a year when the Sun’s path is as far north or as far south from the Earth’s Equator. What’s the difference between a Solstice and an Equinox? Both are periodic solar events that happen on the same date every year. You’ll see that the difference lies in their very definitions. Written by Saanchi Biyani, a grade 5 student.įirst, here’s what they both mean – and you’ll see the difference. It was noticed that the sun reached a point at the solstice when it seemed to stay light or dark the same amount of time over several days instead of making a gradual change. The word solstice comes from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to make stand still). It is followed by the first day of autumn, which is another equinox. The first day of summer is also a solstice, and it marks the longest day and the shortest night. The first day of spring is celebrated when there is the same amount of light and darkness. It is followed by spring three months later. The point in the season when night is the longest and day is shortest is the winter solstice. When the southern hemisphere is angled toward the sun, it has summer, and the northern hemisphere has winter.Įach season is marked by the length of light and darkness each day. When the northern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun as the Earth goes around its orbit, it is summer there. This happens because the Earth's axis is tilted instead of the north and south poles being straight up and down. The longest night each year happens during the winter solstice. That must be what it was like for ancient people during the winter. You wonder if the sun will ever rise again. Have you ever been awakened in the middle of the night and weren't able to get back to sleep? Sometimes the darkness seems to last forever.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |