EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -For part of our orbit the northern half of Earth is tilted toward the Sun. This is summer in the northern hemisphere; there are longer periods of daylight, the Sun is higher in the sky, and the Sun’s rays strike the surface more directly, giving us warmer temperatures. The north pole is in constant daylight!

Detailed explanation-2: -The combination of more direct rays of sunlight and more hours of daylight causes the hemisphere tilted toward the sun to receive more solar radiation and to have warmer temperatures. When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, latitudes between the equator and 90°N (the North Pole) are experiencing summer.

Detailed explanation-3: -This is why the Earth’s 23.5 degree tilt is all important in changing our seasons. Near June 21st, the summer solstice, the Earth is tilted such that the Sun is positioned directly over the Tropic of Cancer at 23.5 degrees north latitude. This situates the northern hemisphere in a more direct path of the Sun’s energy.

Detailed explanation-4: -The northern hemisphere is more directly exposed to the sun’s rays during June and July (summer in the northern hemisphere, SF Fig. 6.11 A). The southern hemisphere receives less direct sunlight during these months, resulting in winter.

Detailed explanation-5: -During the summer solstice, the Sun shines most directly on the Tropic of Cancer, 23.5 degrees north of the equator, giving its most direct energy on Earth to the Northern Hemisphere.