the weather

[dave m]

why do we have 4 seasons,is it summat 2 do with the earth axis changin,if we orbit the sun it seems 2 me we should have the same weather all year round

[bernardo]

In Summer, the sun is more directly overhead, so the heat is more concentrated. In Winter, the sun is at a low angle, so the heat is spread out more. If you imagine the sunlight as a bucketful of custard, the summertime is when you turn it upside-down and it falls in a big lump on the pavement. The wintertime is when you fling it sideways and it goes "whoosh" in a long thin splatty streak. So the same amount of heat gets spread out much more thinly.

[BUNNY]

What a great explaination bernardo!

[ianess]

I had it explained to me that the Earth is like a  spinning top that`s slowing down and wobbling on its axis.  Also our planet`s orbit round the Sun isn`t circular but slightly egg-shaped.  It`s the combination of the two that causes the seasonal variations....but even that is being affected by the way pollution and global warming is helping to destroy the planet.  

[bernardo]

The varying distance btween the Sun and the Earth is not enough to account for seasonal differences.  In January it is 91.5 million miles, and in July it is 94.5 million miles.