Glossary term: Seasons
Description: Earth's axis is not perpendicular to Earth's orbit around the Sun, but inclined at an angle of 23.4 degrees. In consequence, the apparent position of the Sun in the sky at a particular time of day, varies over the year. Whenever the Sun is, on average, higher in the sky, more sunlight reaches a given area of ground. Over the year, this leads to warmer and cooler stretches of time, more pronounced for regions farther away from Earth's equator, which are called the seasons. Northern hemisphere seasons are opposite to southern seasons: Northern summer when the northern hemisphere is tilted maximally towards the Sun, is southern winter, with the southern hemisphere tilted away, and vice versa for southern summer. Many parts of the Earth close to the equator have seasons that are different from the summer and winter pattern seen at temperate and arctic latitudes. It should be noted that the duration, beginning, and end of each season can be influenced by cultural practices and time period.
Related Terms:
See this term in other languages
Term and definition status: This term and its definition have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher
The OAE Multilingual Glossary is a project of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) in collaboration with the IAU Office of Astronomy Outreach (OAO). The terms and definitions were chosen, written and reviewed by a collective effort from the OAE, the OAE Centers and Nodes, the OAE National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs) and other volunteers. You can find a full list of credits here. All glossary terms and their definitions are released under a Creative Commons CC BY-4.0 license and should be credited to "IAU OAE".
If you notice a factual error in this glossary definition then please get in touch.
Related Activities
Sun’s Shadow
astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website) Description: Why is the Sun's shadow so important?
License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
Tags:
Hands-on
, Shadows
Age Ranges:
6-8
, 8-10
, 10-12
, 12-14
, 14-16
Education Level:
Informal
, Middle School
, Primary
, Secondary
Areas of Learning:
Observation based
, Social Research
Costs:
Medium Cost
Duration:
1 day
Group Size:
Group
Skills:
Asking questions
, Communicating information
, Constructing explanations
, Engaging in argument from evidence
Seasons Around the World
astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website) Description: Demonstrate the seasons on Earth using a model.
License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
Tags:
Hands-on
, Model
Age Ranges:
6-8
, 8-10
, 10-12
Education Level:
Middle School
, Primary
Areas of Learning:
Modelling
, Social Research
Costs:
Medium Cost
Duration:
45 mins
Group Size:
Group
Skills:
Analysing and interpreting data
, Asking questions
, Constructing explanations
, Developing and using models
, Planning and carrying out investigations
Navigate like a Viking – Use the Sun, not your phone!
astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website) Description: Learn how the Vikings used the sky to navigate at sea with a hands-on activity!
License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
Tags:
History
, Geography
, Maps
, Coordinates
, Celestial navigation
Age Ranges:
12-14
, 14-16
Education Level:
Middle School
Areas of Learning:
Discussion Groups
, Modelling
, Social Research
Costs:
Medium Cost
Duration:
1 hour 30 mins
Group Size:
Group
Skills:
Analysing and interpreting data
, Asking questions
, Communicating information
, Developing and using models
, Planning and carrying out investigations
, Using mathematics and computational thinking
