Now that you know a bit about the motion of the moon, the sun and Earth, you’re ready for a closer look at the journey Earth takes around the sun--creating days, nights and seasons in the process.
Watch this animation to find out more about Earth’s rotation and revolution around the sun. Then answer the questions in the Take Notes box below.
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That star in the middle of our solar system is bright and hot. And the Earth’s constant movement [rotation & revolution] around it creates patterns of light and dark and heat that we can see and feel here on Earth.
The Earth’s rotation on its axis is what creates day and night. When you are on the sunny side, it’s day. When you are on the shadow side, it’s night. Pretty straight forward, right?
But here’s the thing – Earth’s rotation on its axis isn’t straight forward– it’s tilted [23.5 degrees], and this tilt paired with its revolution around the sun is what is responsible for the seasons.
When the northern half of the world is tilted toward the sun, more hours of daylight and more intense solar radiation (heat) causes warmer temperatures up here [summer]. At the same time, down here [winter] there are shorter days and less intense solar radiation.
And because the Earth is revolving around the sun, when it makes it to the opposite side, the northern and southern hemispheres are tilted the other way [summer (southern), winter (northern)].
This revolution from one side to the other and back takes 365 rotations [days]. And in between the extremes, there are seasons of transition [fall/spring].
So as you go about your day... or night, or season you can thank this movement for your day... or night, or season.
Answer the following questions in the Notes Box, below:
1) How does Earth spinning on its axis make day and night happen?
2) Why does Earth being tilted on its axis make some places have warmer days and other places have colder days?
3) How does Earth going around the sun make different seasons?