Earth revolves round the sun in elliptical path. Then why do we have 3 or 4 seasons throughout the world when?

Question

Earth revolves round the sun in elliptical path. Then why do we have 3 or 4 seasons throughout the world when the earth comes closer to earth twice and goes farther twice.

Answer 1

Seasons are linked to the tilt of the Earths axis and have nothing to do with distance to the sun. Northern hemisphere winter coincides with the closest approach to the sun.

Answer 2

Because the seasons don't really have anything to do with how close the Earth is to the Sun (I presume that's what you mean, you actually said "the earth comes closer to the earth").

The Earth's rotation axis is tilted relative to the perpendicular to its orbital plane. On the time scale of a year the axis points to the same place on the celestial sphere (the distant stars). Thus at one point in the Earth's orbit the north pole is tilted toward the sun and at another the south pole is tilted toward the sun. At two points in between, the rotation axis is perpendicular to a line between the Earth and the Sun and both poles are the same distance from the Sun.

Answer 3

The main factor affecting seasons is the tilt of the earth's axis. During Summer in the northern hemisphere (when in fact the earth is further from the sun ) the northern part of the axis points towards the sun. In the winter the axis points away from the sun. This means that the rays of light from the sun strike the northern hemisphere more directly - thus warming the northern hemisphere more and the day peiod lasts longer as well. As the axis is about 23 degrees to the vertical the change in the axis is more important than the small change in the distance from the sun.

During spring/ autumn/ fall the axis points neither towards nor away from the sun.

Answer 4

Yes, the earth does round the sun in an elliptical path, but this isn't the cause of seasons. Imagine the earth as an apple spinning on a table with a light shining on it from the side. As it spins, the apple begins to tilt, therefore exposing one side of its surface to the light than the other. If the light was the sun, it would mean that different areas of the earth receive different intensities and amount of sunlight, hence giving us the four seasons. Of course, as the apple continues to spin, it will tilt in different directions - this also happens to the earth

Answer 5

The word "helios" in Greek means "sun." Heliocentric means that the sun is at the center. A heliocentric system is one in which the planets revolve around a fixed sun. Thus Mercury, Venus, the Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn all revolve around the sun. The moon is the only celestial sphere in this system which revolves around the earth, and, together with it, around the sun. This theory was first proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus. Copernicus was a Polish astronomer. He first published the heliocentric system in his book: De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, "On the revolutions of the heavenly bodies," which appeared in 1543. Copernicus died the same year his book was published. After 1,400 years, Copernicus was the first to propose a theory which differed from Ptolemy's geocentric system, according to which the earth is at rest in the center with the rest of the planets revolving around it. The claim that all planets revolve around the sun had been raised in ancient times, but Copernicus was the first to succeed in describing the movements of the planets using an astronomical theory which placed the sun at the center. Copernicus conducted his studies over many years and was well acquainted with the Ptolemaic theory. In order to explain the exact movements of the planets, it was necessary to add more and more spheres along which the planets move. Copernicus noticed that all of the planets, apart from the sun, have the same annual movement, and he thought that this movement might be explained by the annual movement of the earth around the sun. His hypothesis that all the planets revolve around the sun was reinforced by the unique characteristics of the sun, which gives light and heat to all the other planets. Hence, it was plausible that the sun served as the center of the planetary system. The daily movement of all the stars around the earth, claimed Copernicus, could be explained by the rotation of the earth on its axis within a 24-hour period. The view experienced from an object revolving around itself is identical to the view experienced when all the other objects revolve around it. In his book, Copernicus explained the movement of the planets and the stars in a simpler way than the Ptolemaic theory did. However, one cannot point out any observational difference between the two theories. Both of them predict identical planetary movements. How does one determine what is revolving and what is being revolved around? Does the earth revolve about the sun or does the sun revolve about the earth? The way to prove this is by means of physical experiments and arguments rather than observation proofs. Galileo contributed a great deal to such arguments in refutation of the Ptolemaic theory, but it was Newton who first produced convincing proof supporting the geocentric theory. Copernicus remained loyal to the Ptolemaic tools and used the spheres in order to explain the movements of the stars. He too thought that the movements of the planets are composed of a number of uniform circular movements, which eventually create a non-circular path. Copernicus was obliged to abandon the idea that the planets are made of a special material, ether, because for him the earth itself is a planet and is obviously not made of ether. He claimed that the movements of the planets are uniform and circular because of their spherical shape. By adhering to this notion of circular movement, Copernicus continued an astronomical tradition of two thousand years which dated back to ancient Greece, and continued through the Arab astronomy of the Middle Ages and right up to the Christian astronomy. Galileo too upheld this tradition by maintaining the claim that circular movement was the characteristic movement of the celestial bodies. Johannes Kepler was the first to discover that the planets move in an elliptical orbit around the sun. In 1539, the Protestant leader Martin Luther denounced the new theory. The Catholic Church disregarded Copernicus' book until 1616, when it was included in the "Index": A list of prohibited books. The Catholic church even used Copernicus' book to correct the calendar (which we still use today). The Church did not object to the theory so long as the book was treated as no more than a mathematical explanation,(about which he had heard considerable rumors). Which does not really claim that the earth rotates around the sun. This explanation also allowed Protestant astronomers to use the theory.

Answer 6

Everyone else has already pointed out that the seasons have nothing to do with distance between sun and earth, but there's another misconception I'd like to correct. Earth's orbit is eliptical, but the Sun does not sit at the centre of the elipse but at one of the foci. This means that Earth only makes one close approach and one farthest distance per orbit.

Answer 7

The seasons are caused by the tilt of the earth's axis, different portions of the earth are presented to the sun as it makes its yearly journey around it.

Answer 8

the winter and the summer solstitium marks theose points where earth is closer of farther ...and the equinoxes mark the half of the distance between them..so the spring and automn are just intermediat seasons...like in if u put blue and yellow u would get green...yellow is summer and blue is winter..green obviously spring

Answer 9

astronomically there are no such things as "seasons"; they are a folk taxonomy