Does the sun shine on the north side of objects, and why is the southern exposure all day sun?

Question

My 14 yr old son wanted to know.

Answer 1

Yes, the north side of your house can get sunshine. In the summer, the sun rises and sets north of due east and west, so the north side can get sun in the morning and evening.

The sun will be directly overhead somewhere in the tropics, so here in the northern hemisphere it will always move across the southern sky.

Answer 2

I'm not sure what exactly you're asking but will try to answer- the sun doesn't exactly shine on the north side- if you're referring to a planet, the sun shines on the planet as the planet spins, so all aspects of the planet get some sun. I think what you want to know has to do with the earth's tilt as it spins on its axis- the earth is tilted around 24 degrees as it circles the sun, so what this results in as the planet goes around the sun is the seasons. As earth circles the sun, some of the time the northern hemisphere gets more sunlight, resulting in summer there. At other times the southern hemisphere gets more sunlight and it's summer there, while it's winter in the north! During the times that it's summer in the northern hemisphere, the sun never sets in the far arctic north due to the tilt of the earth, and vice versa in the south. Also when it's summer in the southern hemisphere, the northern arctic may only get 2 hrs. of sun all day! Weird huh?

Answer 3

I live in the southern hemisphere, and the sun crosses the northern sky from our aspect.

Your latitude position is the factor in how much sunlight falls on the an object.

For instance, at the equinox (March 21 and Sept 21), at the equator the sun is directly overhead at noon. It then shines equally on both sides of an object.

On the longest day at the North Pole (June 21), the sun never sets, and will circle the whole sky during the day. Then of course it will shine on all sides of an object.

If you are somewhere between the equator and the pole, as most of us are, then the effects will be soemwhere between those two extremes.

However, you can safely say that at the latitude of New York, the north side of a box will never see much sun, and for much of the year will see no sun.

Answer 4

The side on which the sun shines depends on the time of the day and the tilt of the earth. Since the rotation of earth results in the sun moving from east to west from the Earth's perspective, in the morning, the sun will be at the east, casting shadow to the west and in the afternoon, the usn will be at the west, casting the shadow to the east. Then the tilt of the earth dictates whether the sun shines on the north/south east or north/south west. At noon, it's directly above, but with the tilt of Earth, it could be north or south. The tilt differs from season to season. 'Hope I'm answering your son's question.