In the northern hemisphere, we're closer to the sun during the winter than summer. Why is our winter colder?
earth's axial tilt determines the seasons.
Why are seasons in the Northern Hemisphere opposite to those in the Southern Hemisphere?
Because we are in the Southern Hemisphere. The Earth is a strange ball of rock, and its axis is strange. Think of the Earth as a spinning top.It doesn't stay straight, as it wobbles on its point. The earth moves like that, with the earth moving like a hand wave. See the light on the picture? Imagine that is the suns light. Also, see the shadow on the right of the top? The light can't reach that area. Also, the top part has a bit of shadow. The blobby sides move up and down, moving the light down and up.Now see this image? This is the axis of rotation. Earth isn't straight, but 23.5 degrees sloped. From Brazil down, there is the Southern Hemisphere. The US and the North gets more light, because the sun is shining on them. The sun doesn't move. In the Northern Hemisphere, they get Summer, while in the Southern Hemisphere, we get Winter.This is another image. The Vernal equinox is Spring, btw. In Autumn, the sun shines on the Americas. Earth still spins, but most of the North Pole doesn't receive as many light. The Spring Equinox is the opposite, with the North Pole receiving slightly more light, but not a lot.Right now it is 9th November 2017. It is Spring in my country, Australia and the US and Europe are receiving beautiful autumn leaves. Autumn also means Fall. We have Summer Christmases, Autumn Easters, Spring Halloweens. We also have a 6 week holiday from December to Jan-Feb.I guess, blame Mother Nature
Which direction does the earth rotate and orbit the sun?
Viewing earth as is tradition with the North pole at the top then the Earth spins on its axis anti-clockwise and orbits the sun anti-clockwise.It not a perfectly anti-clockwise in relation to the sun earth rotation though. The earth is tilted towards the sun at an angle of 23.5 degrees to 25.5 degrees. The tilt varies by about one degree.There are other planets notable Uranus that is almost completely lying on its side as it orbits the sun. But generally speaking planetary orbits are on a plane which is not too eccentric in terms of rising above or falling below the equator of the sun.There is nothing that would stop a planet from orbiting the sun the other way or even orbiting it north to south. However the accretion disc that was left behind when our star formed orbited anti -clockwise therefore the planets formed orbiting roughly in that same direction with a slight deviation on the plane. Neptune, Venus and Earth are the three planets in the Solar system with the least elliptical orbit and Pluto (now a dwarf planetoid) and Mercury are the planets with the most eccentric orbit.Most stars that form begin to spin in a direction that is formulated by the direction of the gases falling inward toward the center of gravity of the protostar. That is followed by other matter following the same spin.Thankfully as a Goddess the laws of physics look after all of this for me while I polish my nails.Semper In Lucem Solaria.
If the earth is rotating around the sun, wouldn't night and day switch every six months, as the planet would be on the opposite side of the sun?
It seems quite a few people misunderstood this question, which is actually a very intelligent observation. Yes, if a day was EXACTLY 24 hours, this would be true. AM and PM would flip flop through the course of a year.This is based on the false assumption that the Earth’s day/night cycle is 24 hours to the minute. It is not.Our day/night cycle is almost exactly 23 hours and 56 minutes. So where does that extra 4 minutes go each day? Let’s do some math.After a week, those 4 minutes offset our day by almost a half-hour.After a month, those 4 minutes offset our day by 2 hours.After 6 months, those 4 minutes offset our day by 12 hours.So as the Earth moves to the opposite end of the sun, our clock has kept pace with the day/night cycle to account for this difference.
What is the rotation of the earth? Is it clockwise or anti-clockwise?
When viewed looking down on the north pole from above, the Earth rotates anticlockwise. This is the definition of a north pole; when viewed from above the south pole, it rotates clockwise. These definitions ensure that the sun always rises in the east & sets in the west, no matter what planet you are on. Naturally, it has nothing to do with any magnetic field. Direction of rotation is viewer-dependent; a flat spinning disk rotates clockwise or anticlockwise according to which side one is observing.
Why does the sun stay up longer in the summer?
The earth is tilted on it's axis, roughly 23.3 degrees. So during the summer your hemisphere of the earth is pointed toward the sun. So you are able to enjoy a longer period of sunlight. This is also the reason behind the lessened sunlight in winter. Now, summer begins on the Summer Solstace, which is when the sun's rays are directly over either the tropic of capricorn or the tropic of cancer depending on which hemisphere you live. This increase in sunlight is because the tilt of earth is placing more direct sunlight on your half of the earth. So it takes longer for the earth to face away from the sun.
How would seasons be different if the earth did not tilt on its axis?
There would be no seasons. If the earth rotated on an axis "straight up and down," every region of the earth would get the same exposure to sun. The northern and southern regions would always be temperate, the equator would always be hot, and the poles would always be, well, polar. The real difference is that the earth's tilt constantly changes: The earth precesses in its axis. In northern summer, the north pole tilts more toward the sun so that that region gets warmer, then in winter, the axis tilts back so that the north gets less sun.
If seasons depends upon the part of earth receiving the sun rays, why don't it is winter at night and summer at day?
The perception that the seasons depend upon receiving the Sun rays is wrong. The seasons do not depend on Sun rays but seasons depend upon the Earth's tilt. The image above shows that the Sun is at the centre of Earth's orbit, which is also incorrect. Consider the following image:(Note that the actual path of Earth's orbit is not as eccentric as that portrayed in the image, it is an exaggeration.)As you can see, the Sun is not at the centre of Earth's orbit. Now consider periapsis, the point in an orbit closest to the body being orbited, which is around 3rd January. The Southern hemisphere directly receives the Sun rays and hence it is summer in the Southern hemisphere. The Northern hemisphere receiving Sun rays indirectly has the winter season. Around 21st March, both the hemispheres receive the equal amount of Sun rays. The same logic applies to the remaining positions. The equator receives 12 hours of sunlight throughout the year so there are no seasons at the equator.Now coming to the question, imagine yourself living in the Northern hemisphere. Comparing the nights of January and of July, you will notice that the nights of January are colder than that of July. Hence, it is not winter at night. The same logic applies to why it isn't summer at day. Also, seasons are marked by particular weather patterns and daylight.Image credit: Earth's orbit