Seasons

Seasons
What do your students think causes the seasons?
Images at http://nix.ksc.nasa.gov/info
Created by the Lunar and Planetary Institute

For Educational Use Only
LPI is not responsible for the ways in which this powerpoint may be used or altered.
Lets Look at Some Data!

Temperatures around the World
Daylight hours
Average Daily Temperatures (F) in Tourist Cities

(from http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004587.html ))
January
April
July
October
CapeTown(SouthAfrica)
69
66
60
65
Caracas(Venezuela)
75
81
78
79
London(UnitedKingdom)
44
56
73
58
MexicoCity(Mexico)
66
77
73
70
Montreal(Canada)
22
51
79
56
Moscow(Russia)
21
47
76
46
Nairobi(Kenya)
77
75
69
77
Paris(France)
42
60
76
59
SanJos(CostaRica)
75
79
77
77
Seoul(Korea)
33
62
84
67
Singapore
86
89
87
88
Stockholm(Sweden)
31
45
70
48
Sydney(Australia)
79
73
62
72
Tokyo(Japan)
48
64
84
70
Decembe
r
True color images

March
June
September
Images at http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/features/blue_marble.html
Animation-Earths Life through

Seasons
Daylight Hours Across the Globe

Time is indicated as number of hours (h)
Miami
Jan
Feb
10.5 h 11 h
Brisbane
14.5 h
13.5 h 13.5 h 12.5 h
Nairobi
12 h
12 h
Punta Arenas
17.5 h 15.5 h
5h
7h
Mar
12 h
12 h
Apr
12.5 h
12 h
13.5 h 11.5 h
10 h
13.5 h
May
13 h
11 h
12 h
10 h
Jun
14 h
Jul
14.5 h
Aug
14 h
Sep
12.5 h
Oct
12.5 h
11 h
11 h
11.5 h
11.5 h
12.5 h
12 h
8.5 h
17.5 h 21.5 h
12 h
8.5 h
12 h
9.5 h
12 h
11.5 h
12 h
Nov
Dec
11 h
11.5 h
14 h
12 h
14.5 h
12 h
13 h
15 h
16.5 h
8.5 h
5.5 h
22 h
18 h
15.5 h
11.5 h
12 h
12 h
12 h
12 h
Nome
Singapore
12 h
12 h
15 h
14 h
Cape Town
9h
Seattle
24 h
10 h
24 h
12 h
12 h
13 h
13 h
13.5 h 12.5 h
11.5 h 10 h
11 h
13.5 h
15 h
14.5 h
0h
19 h
10.5 h
17 h
16.5 h
0h
0h
11 h
11.5 h
12.5 h
15.5 h
13.5 h
11.5 h
0h
7h
15 h
12 h
12 h
14 h
14 h
10.5 h
9.5 h
24 h
24 h
Vostok
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/skytellers/seasons/activities/lig
Lets Start with some Observations

Using free downloaded computer program,
Stellarium: http://www.stellarium.org/
Stellarium is planetarium software that shows
exactly what you see when you look up at the stars.
It's easy to use, and free.
Lets look at sunrise & sunset, and Suns

height in the sky.
Height of Sun for USA

Winter: The Sun rises in the southeast,
stays low in the sky, and sets in the
southwest.
Spring: The Sun rises due east, moves
higher in the sky than in winter, and sets
due west.
Summer: The Sun rises in the northeast,
travels high (near zenith), and sets in the
northwest.
Fall: The Sun rises due east, travels to a
medium-height in the sky, and sets due
What Causes Earths Seasons?

Earths axis is tilted 23.5 degrees it always
points in the same direction (Polaris, the North
Star) as we orbit our Sun once a year
This tilt causes the hemispheres to alternate in
the amount of our Suns light and heat they
receive through the year
Image at http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/skytellers/seasons/abou
Northern Hemisphere Summer
More daylight hours, more direct sunlight
Image at http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/skytellers/seasons/abou
Earths orbit is almost a perfect

circle
Earth is CLOSEST to our Sun (91
million miles) in winterJanuary 3
Earth is farthest from on our Sun
(94 million miles) in summer July 4
Seasons on Other Planets

In some cases, the changing distances from
the Sun will affect the seasons.
In others, the axial tilt will make a huge
difference!
Image at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02963
Image at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01589
Seasons on Planets
Planet
Axial Tilt Eccent. Orbit
Perihelion
Aphelion
Mercury
0
0.21 88 days
28 mill. Miles 43 mill.
miles
Venus
177
0.01 224 days
Earth
23
0.02 365 days
91 mill. miles 94 mill.
miles
Mars
25
0.09 686 days
129 mill. miles 155 mill.
miles
Jupiter
3
0.05 12 years
Saturn
27
0.06 30 years
Uranus
98
0.05 84 years
Neptune
30
0.01 165 years
Mars Orbit and Seasons

At vernal equinox, Mars
is 145 million miles from
the Sun
At winter solstice, Mars

is 128 million miles
from the Sun
At summer solstice, Mars

is 153 million miles from
the Sun
At autumnal equinox,
Mars is 134 million miles
from the Sun
Original images from http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html

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Seasons

What do your students think causes the seasons?

Created by the Lunar and Planetary Institute

Lets Look at Some Data!

Average Daily Temperatures (F) in Tourist Cities

True color images

Animation-Earths Life through

Daylight Hours Across the Globe

13.5 h 13.5 h 12.5 h

Lets Start with some Observations

Lets look at sunrise & sunset, and Suns

Height of Sun for USA

What Causes Earths Seasons?

Northern Hemisphere Summer

More daylight hours, more direct sunlight

Earths orbit is almost a perfect

Seasons on Other Planets

Mars Orbit and Seasons

At winter solstice, Mars

At summer solstice, Mars

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