L02 - Seasons

Lecture #2: Annual Motion + Seasons
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Prof Sarah likes this space/science-related thing:
(Please submit your own

suggestions on eClass!)
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Is the Sun a star?
?
A. Yes
B. No
C. I don’t know
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Let’s try to leave here today…
• with basic rules to predict the motions
of the Sun and stars in our local sky
• aware of the difference between a 24h

solar day and a 23h56m sidereal day
• able to explain to our friends why we

experience seasons
4
Why do we have seasons?
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Think - Pair - Share
Before talking with your neighbour:
1. draw an accurate (not to scale) orbit of the Earth
Sun System. define a day and a year in writing
2. write down what causes the seasons
3. draw another figure to explain the seasons
Take ~2 min write down the details you remember/know
Then discuss with your neighbour. If you disagree, convince your neighbour
why you think you are right!
6
Which contributes most to why we
have seasons on Earth?
A. The Earth’s orbit is elliptical
?
and we are closer to the Sun in
summer.
B. The tilt of Earth’s axis means
that one part of Earth is closer
to the Sun in summer.
C. The tilt of Earth’s axis means
the Sun appears higher in the
sky in the summer, so rays of
sunlight hit the ground more
directly in summer.
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Does your answer change if you knew that we
are closer to the Sun in January than in July?
A. The Earth’s orbit is elliptical
?
and we are closer to the Sun in
summer.
B. The tilt of Earth’s axis means
that one part of Earth is closer
to the Sun in summer.
C. The tilt of Earth’s axis means
the Sun appears higher in the
sky in the summer, so rays of
sunlight hit the ground more
directly in summer.
8
Which orbit better represents the Earth around the Sun
(not to scale). I want you to focus on the shape of the
orbit
A.
B.
C.
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(super duper not-to-scale)*
*also the cause of misconceptions on orbit due to10development of human brain and image rotation!
Why does Earth’s tilt give us seasons?
At our distance from the Sun, Earth receives a flux of
S = 1361 W/m2
of energy from our nearest star. Because the Sun is so far
away, this light is coming at us in nearly parallel rays.
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Sunlight Hitting Earth at Equinox:
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Sunlight Hitting Earth at Solstice:
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Adret vs Ubac Lebanon
north-facing slope south-facing slope
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Summer is when your hemisphere is most directly illuminated.
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Far from the equator,
the Sun also shines
for more hours/day
in the summer.
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Far from the equator, the Sun shines for more hours/day in the summer.
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Why do we have seasons?
1. More direct illumination delivers more heat to a
surface, and more direct illumination happens
when our hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun.
2. The Sun has a longer path to travel across the

sky in the summer, resulting in more hours of
daylight and more heat delivered.
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Think - Pair - Share
Using your figure, why is a
“sidereal day” be 23h56m?
(A sidereal day is the time required for the

Earth to rotate once relative to the background
of the stars)
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Earth’s sidereal day is 23h56m. This is the time it takes
Earth to spin once relative to distant stars = the time for
a star to return to roughly the same place in the sky.
Earth’s solar day is 24h. This is the time it takes for the
Sun to return to roughly the same place in the sky.
21
22
Due to the Earth’s
23.5° tilt, the
Sun’s declination
in the sky goes
from -23.5° to
+23.5° over the
year.
23
24
Take your cell phone and turn on the flashlight,
see the difference when you hold it permanently
to your desk vs tilt it, the light is more diffuse
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This is a great applet to understand
the rest of this lecture:
http://astro.unl.edu/naap/motion1/
animations/seasons_ecliptic.html
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Earth is the one that’s moving,…
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…but we often describe the Sun as moving in the sky.
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equinox = Sun is on the celestial equator
solstice = Sun is as far north or south as possible
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30
On December 21, the North Pole of Earth receives:
A. 24 hours of
daylight
B. 12 hours of
daylight
C. 0 hours of
?
daylight
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Where on Earth is the Sun at zenith at noon on June 21?
A. Everywhere on Earth
B. Everywhere in the
?
northern hemisphere
C. Just at the equator.
D. Just at 23.5˚N latitude.
E. Everywhere between
23.5˚S and 23.5˚N
latitude.
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At a mid-northern
latitude (like 40˚N),
you will see:
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Announcements
• Readings for this week are Chapter 2.1, Chapter 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 and 4.5
• Can be helpful to use a tennis ball or a similar ball to visualise the moon/Earth to next
few classes
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Lecture #2: Annual Motion + Seasons

(Please submit your own

• aware of the difference between a 24h

• able to explain to our friends why we

Take ~2 min write down the details you remember/know

2. The Sun has a longer path to travel across the

(A sidereal day is the time required for the

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