SEASON

This impact was the last to alter the tilt of the Earth. Today, instead of rotating upright, the Earth’s axis
is tilted 23.5 degrees. The angle varies a little over time, but the gravitational pull of the moon prevents
it from shifting by more than a degree or so. This tilt is what gives us seasons.

The Earth’s axis always points the same direction, so as the planet makes its way around the sun, each
hemisphere sees varying amounts of sunlight. For part of the year, the Northern Hemisphere leans away
from the sun’s light. Days grow short, and temperatures drop. This is winter. Eventually, the Earth
crosses over to the other side of the sun, where the Northern Hemisphere leans toward the light. Days
grow long, and weather warms. This is summer.

The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The summer solstice is
the longest. On the autumnal or vernal equinox, the day is 12 hours long everywhere on Earth.

Near the equator, the length of the day varies little over the course of the year, and the seasons are less
pronounced. Closer to the poles, the length of the day fluctuates more, producing more dramatic
seasons. The change in weather poses a challenge to plants and animals at higher latitudes, who have
evolved different ways of coping.

Seasons are different on every planet. Mercury has no tilt, but it follows an elliptical path around the
sun, drifting closer and then farther away, making the planet alternately warmer and colder. Mars has
an elliptical orbit, like Mercury, in addition to being tilted, like Earth. Venus, by contrast, no seasons.
Like Earth, it follows a circular path around the sun, and like Mercury, it essentially has no tilt.
If the Earth had no tilt, like Mercury or Venus, the sun would shine for 12 hours every day everywhere
on the planet, as it does on the equinox. Washington would probably be spared the most bitter winter
chills and sweltering summer heat, but it would also be deprived of changing leaves in autumn and the
singular bloom of flowers in spring.

The ecliptic is defined by the plane of Earth’s orbit around the sun. The major planets in our solar system and their moons, and some
asteroids, orbit more or less in this same plane.
Animated depiction of Earth (the blue ball) orbiting the sun (the yellow ball), showing the projection of Earth-sun plane – the ecliptic – onto the
background stars. Image via Tfr000/ Wikimedia Commons.