Tag Archives: seasons

Blog 1:What Causes Seasons?

Posted on January 30, 2022 by Charles Littleton

It is commonly believed that the Earth’s distance from the Sun determines the seasons. The Earth’s orbit is lopsided and we are closer to the sun at different times in the year. In the northern hemisphere, we are closest to the sun when we have winter debunking the misconception that the distance to the sun […] Continue reading →

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Solstices and Equinoxes

Posted on January 30, 2022 by solarelizabeth

The seasons change as Earth orbits the sun. Earth’s hemispheres receive different amounts of sunlight during each season because of the 23.5 degree tilt of Earth’s axis. When the Earth is at a point in its orbit that the northern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, it is summer for the northern hemisphere. This is […] Continue reading →

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Scenes from Hubble: Saturn’s Seasons

Posted on March 22, 2021 by allyworthington

Images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope show changing seasons on the gas giant, Saturn. Saturn has a slower orbit than Earth (29 years to orbit the sun!), which makes each “season” on the planet over 7 years long. Similar to Earth, Saturn is tilted on an axis, which affects the intensity of sunlight on sides … Continue reading Scenes from Hubble: Saturn’s Seasons → Continue reading →

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Seasons, Solstices and Equinoxes

Posted on January 22, 2018 by samssolarsystem

    What causes the seasons?  Not only is this asked on page 32 of Chapter 2, but it is often asked by many individuals residing on Earth.  However, a surprisingly few number of people actually know.  Seasons occur because the title of Earth’s axis causes sunlight to fall differently on Earth at different times … Continue reading Seasons, Solstices and Equinoxes → Continue reading →

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Seasons, Solstices and Equinoxes

Posted on January 22, 2018 by samssolarsystem

    What causes the seasons?  Not only is this asked on page 32 of Chapter 2, but it is often asked by many individuals residing on Earth.  However, a surprisingly few number of people actually know.  Seasons occur because the title of Earth’s axis causes sunlight to fall differently on Earth at different times … Continue reading Seasons, Solstices and Equinoxes → Continue reading →

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Manhattanhenge

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Nick Belsten

Four-thousand years ago, early Europeans’ connected with the Cosmos every Summer Solstice by watching the midsummer sunrise directly over the Heel Stone in what we now call Stonehenge. These early people recognized that where the sun rises and sets on the horizon cycles North and South with the seasons. Today, thousands of people gather four times … Continue reading Manhattanhenge → Continue reading →

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Chase’s Solar System blog 2016-01-26 19:46:22

Posted on January 26, 2016 by chasejaeger

Earth’s Elliptical Orbit and Seasons Though a common misconception about the cause of seasons is that they are caused by the Earth’s distance to the Sun, in actuality, seasons are caused by Earth’s 23 degree axial tilt. But why do changes in Earth’s distance from the Sun have virtually no effect on temperatures on Earth? […] Continue reading →

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Your Zodiac Sign is Wrong: 3 Misconceptions You Have About the Night-Sky

Posted on January 26, 2016 by harperastronomyblog

We all get it. You’re a Capricorn or a Taurus or a Sagittarius or a(n) [any other zodiac constellation]. You’ve read all of your horoscopes, and they fit your personality soooo well. “This is so me,” you might yell to your friends, completely disregarding the fact that they don’t care which vague internet prediction you identify with. […] Continue reading →

Posted in Aliens, Class, Dwarf Planets, Exoplanets, Galaxies, General, Historical, Instruments, Jovians, Light, Moons, Observables, Outreach, Physics, Planet Rings, Public Policy, Science, Small SS Objects, SolarSystem, Space Travel, Stars, Sun, Terrestrials, Universe | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Your Zodiac Sign is Wrong: 3 Misconceptions You Have About the Night-Sky

Precession of Earth

Posted on January 25, 2016 by sarabkeller

I think one of the most interesting topics in Chapter 2 of the Astronomy textbook is about the concept of precession, or the gradual change in the rotational axis of Earth. The direction of Earth’s axis rotates on a 26,000 year cycle. That may mean next to nothing to us in our lifespan, but precession will gradually […] Continue reading →

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The Great Shift

Posted on January 25, 2016 by alecsolarsystem

The Earth is like the top from Inception. As it spins around at very high speeds it wobbles or “precesses” back and forth as the force of gravity from the Moon and Sun tug it from different directions, but it will never fall over. This movement, although much slower and less noticeable than the Earth’s […] Continue reading →

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