First of all, a basic explanation. The Earth's axis is tilted. The Earth's axis is pointed the in the same direction all the time, so some depending on the Earth's position relative to the sun, the one hemisphere will be closer to the sun than the other. The hemisphere that is closer, even by such a marginal amount, is warmer, and has summer. The video (from here) shows this. When it is warmer in the northern hemisphere, it is colder in the southern one.
Now, an explanation of solstices. The solstice is when one hemisphere is closest to the sun. In other words, the time when the difference between the seasons in each hemisphere is the greatest. That is why the the solstices happen in the middle of winter and the center of summer. The solstice is shown in the above video at the point where the Earth is farthest to the left of farthest to the right.
Next up, equinoxes. While the solstice is the time when the seasons in the south and the north are as different as they get, the equinox is when the are the closest to each other. When the sunlight that hits he Earth hits perpendicular to the direction of the axis, the axis is not really changing anything, and therefore the seasons in the south and the north are similar. During the equinox in the spring, the other hemisphere has autumn weather, and vice versa. In the video above the equinoxes happen when the Earth is directly behind the sun and directly in front of it.
Finally, eclipses. There are two types of eclipses, lunar and solar. A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth is between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow onto the moon, and darkening it. Lunar eclipses happen twice a year or more. A solar eclipse happens when the moon goes in front of the sun, so from a certain place on Earth, the sun is blocked from sight. A solar eclipse happens twice to five times a year.
Thanks for reading!
Now, an explanation of solstices. The solstice is when one hemisphere is closest to the sun. In other words, the time when the difference between the seasons in each hemisphere is the greatest. That is why the the solstices happen in the middle of winter and the center of summer. The solstice is shown in the above video at the point where the Earth is farthest to the left of farthest to the right.
Next up, equinoxes. While the solstice is the time when the seasons in the south and the north are as different as they get, the equinox is when the are the closest to each other. When the sunlight that hits he Earth hits perpendicular to the direction of the axis, the axis is not really changing anything, and therefore the seasons in the south and the north are similar. During the equinox in the spring, the other hemisphere has autumn weather, and vice versa. In the video above the equinoxes happen when the Earth is directly behind the sun and directly in front of it.
Finally, eclipses. There are two types of eclipses, lunar and solar. A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth is between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow onto the moon, and darkening it. Lunar eclipses happen twice a year or more. A solar eclipse happens when the moon goes in front of the sun, so from a certain place on Earth, the sun is blocked from sight. A solar eclipse happens twice to five times a year.
Thanks for reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment