Seasons - Axial Tilt
The Tilt of the Earth
Here you can see how far over the Earth "tilts". It is not
straight up like "No Tilt" picture, but over to one side.
In the picture on the left, you can see how much the Earth "tilts"
towards the Sun. This is called the
Axial Tilt.
(The "pole" sticking up out of the Arctic is not real
of course, it is just there to show you where the North Pole is!)
However, the North Pole does not always tilt towards
the Sun, but gradually moves right around during one year (ie one
orbit), so for half of the time the North Pole is pointing
away from the Sun and the South Pole is pointing towards it.
Try this animation to see what we mean.
You can see this in the picture below. When the North Pole is
pointed towards the Sun, it is Summer in the Northern
Hemisphere. When it is pointed away from the Sun, it is
Winter.
The Seasons in the Northern Hemisphere
Here you can see the Earth at four points in its orbit.
The orbit is very nearly circular, but it is seen from an angle, not from
directly above.
Click here to find out more >>
