The Sun closer to Earth in Winter, then why???
2006-06-20 21:25:02 · 4 answers · asked by Pwerunicca 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
I've read about the angle of incidence answer in many elementary school books. At best, it is misleading. The fact that sunlight is more direct during the summer has little to do with the amount of radiation a hemisphere of the Earth collects. The Earth's tilt does however dictate how many hours of sunlight a hemisphere receives. In the northern hemisphere when the Earth is tilted toward the Sun (June, July, August) the north gets more hours of sunlight. More hours of sunlight equates with more collected radiation and that equates with hotter temperatures. Having said that, this isn't the entire story. If it were then the North Pole would be the hottest place on Earth during June, July, and August... and it isn't. So weather patterns play an important role in moving the heat to specific places.
2006-06-21 06:15:04 · answer #1 · answered by Shank 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
actually both answers thus far... are... well... umm...
summer heat has nothing to do with the distance to the sun... in fact, when it is summer some places... earth at its furthest from the sun...what it does have to do with is the angle of incidence between the sun and earth... During the winter the area you are in is tilted away from the sun. This causes the sun's energy to be dispersed over a much wider area. In the summer however, the area you are in is tilted to face the sun, in effect increasing the amount of energy that hits the area you are in...
Try it with a flashlight and a piece of paper... tape the paper to a wall or put it on a desk.. hold a flashlight a foot away pointed straight at the paper... and draw a line around the illuminated part... it should be circular...
then with another piece of paper hold the flash light 1 foot away, but at a 45 degree angle with respect to the paper (this represents the earth's tilt in reference to the sun) again trace the outline of the illuminated area... it should be oval...
when comparing the 2 you should find that they are approsimately the same width.. however the second is much longer... and thus covers a greater surface area... the power of the flashlight didnt change, however its energy was distributed over a much larger area than when the angle of incidence was 0 degree.
Edit:
in regards to other reply below...
your comment in regards to the north pole is exactly why your answer is incorrect. seasonal temperatures are a climatic feature, as are weather cycles... weather cycles are not the cause of average regional temperatures taken over the course of years, but are rather influenced by these temperatures. During the northern hemisphere's summer, the north pole is consistantly bombarded by the sun's energy, however it is NOT the warmest place on the planet, because there is barely any energy absorbed due to the angle of incidence... the north pole during the summer is basically in a state of perpetual sunset, with the sun never reaching the pinnacle in the sky that it does in the lower 48.
Another example of this happens ON AVERAGE every day...if your length of time of exposure theory was correct the hottest time of every day would be sunset. However it isnt, it is a few hours after noon... places instead experience a cooling trend as evening approaches and the sun gets lower and lower in the sky... this is because once again the angle of incidence changes and less of the suns energy is directly applied to the regions in which the sun is setting... Now.. again, I am discussing an average trendof course there will be specifc examples when there is cloud cover, or a high pressure zone over a region during the noon hours, that later move off causing a warming trend in the late afternoon hours.. but these are incidental and norm (at least not in the majority of the world)
now this is not to say that continued exposure does not play a role in increased heating... this is one reason the temperature reaches a high a few hours after noon, cause the area is still being bombarded by DIRECT sunlight, causing an increase in temperature... but again... as sighted in the north pole example... continued bombardment is not the predominant reason.
2006-06-20 22:23:42 · answer #2 · answered by Thomas P 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Earth is tilted on its axis at a 23 degree angle. During summer the northern hemisphere is thus tilted toward the sun and so its hotter here then.
2006-06-20 21:35:54 · answer #3 · answered by The Invisible Man 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Earth do revolve round the sun
2006-06-20 21:29:00 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋