Ok, so in the winter time the Earth is further away from the sun on it's aphelion part of the orbit around it thus it is colder. In the summertime it is on it's perihelion thus it is warmer (I suppose depending on where one lives on the planet). So how does the sun keep it's brightness intensity when we are further away but not it's radiation (heat) intensity?
2006-11-01 02:33:41 · 13 answers · asked by Lee 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Afraid you got it backwards, Lee -- in winter Earth is closest to the sun, in summer we're farthest away. The seasons of Earth are not caused by our distance from the sun but instead by the 23-degree tilt of Earth on its axis.
2006-11-01 02:37:19 · answer #1 · answered by Chug-a-Lug 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Assuming you're in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun actually is CLOSEST to Earth in the Winter, and FURTHER in the summer. The summer warmth is actually the result of the angle at which the sun's rays hit the Earth...the sun is more overhead in the summer, and so we get the full strength of its heat because the rays just about hit the earth directly at an almost 90 degree angle. In the winter, the sun stays lower in the sky, and so the rays don't hit us as directly---maybe a 30 degree difference in the angle. As a result, we experience the cold of winter, even though the sun is CLOSEST to us during the winter!
The brightness is more of a measure of its output of light...the diiference in distance at aphelion and perihelion is negligible.
2006-11-01 02:53:22 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
As said earlier, our seasons are due to the tilt of Earth not our distance from the sun. As for while the intensity stays the same it's because we're about 93 million miles from the sun at any given time. The difference in distance from the sun during different parts of the orbit aren't a heck of a whole lot in comparison.
2006-11-01 02:52:51 · answer #3 · answered by moronreaper 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Winter is colder because 1) the sun stays low in the sky, so the rays strike the ground at an angle, spreading the same energy out over a wider area. 2) the days are shorter.
As others have pointed out, in the northern hemisphere the sun is actually a little closer in the winter.
2006-11-01 04:01:32 · answer #4 · answered by injanier 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
to expand on braxton's point -
The seasons are indeed casued by the earths tilt. We are tilted further from the sun in winter and therefore receive a less intense impact of heatfrom the sun because we are angled away and therefore the rays of the sun spread over a larger area.
However the distance to the sun is irrelevant because as you may know, winter in the northern hemisphere is summer in the southern hemisphere and vice versa
2006-11-01 02:41:00 · answer #5 · answered by Stuart T 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Weather has a lot to do with this. When it is a perfectly clear day, the sun seems brighter than when there are some clouds. And with the leaves falling off the trees, there is much more open sky for you to see.
2016-05-23 02:19:16 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well the sun is a ball of gas! and if all the gas runs out we did because there is no heat and it is so bright because of the high intensity of the burning gas btw im only 12 lol so sorry if thins is wrong
2006-11-01 02:52:24 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's a ball of burning GAS
How does a fire stay so bright- Burning Gas
2006-11-01 02:35:12 · answer #8 · answered by Bobby 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is an LCD flash bulb inside it...
Ask a silly question get a silly answer.
2006-11-01 02:41:15 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Little Green men stop by and throw on a couple more logs!
2006-11-01 02:40:51 · answer #10 · answered by Mr Booo 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋