It's twice in an year, Earth comes closest to Sun, why it's very cold at one time and hot at the other time?

Question

Despite presumably being at equal distances at both occasions, why the temperature varies to such an extent!

Answer 1

The Earth makes *one* close approach to the Sun. The Earth's orbit is eliptical, with the Sun located not at the centre of the elipse but at one of the foci. It makes its closest approach in January and is furthest in July.

The temperature variation is due to the tilt of the Earth's axis, which affects the angle at which solar radiation strikes the surface. In January the northern hemisphere receives sunlight at a much shallower angle, so is cooler than in July, when the Sun is more overhead in the north. For the southern hemisphere it is reversed.

Answer 2

Only once in a year Earth comes nearest to Sun that is on3rd Jaunuary.At that time northern hemisphere has winter and southern hemisphere Summer!

Answer 3

The Earth is always at a tilt of 23. degrees.  This tilt is the reason for seasons.

The tilt doesn't move, but Earth moves around the sun.  For this reason, the side that is tilted towards the Sun (therefore receiving more energy from it) will be warmer.

Here is a link to some good articles and diagrams of how this works:

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/e...

Hope this helps, and keep on learning ;)

Answer 4

The earth coming nearer to sun at one part of the year due to the elliptical axis in not the only reason for hot & cold climate. Another reason is the tilt of the earth axis during a year with reference to the sun. When the sunrays have more tilt towards the upper side of equator, the northern hemisphere is hotter ans the southern hemisphere is colder, and vice verse

Answer 5

actually our earth is elliptical in shape and tilted 22.5 degrees from its axis. thus when earth is near to sun...that is if there is winters in India we have summer in Australia....that's why we celebrate Christmas in summer in Australia.

hope u got ur answer

Answer 6

the earth is always tilting 23 degrees this is what brings about the seasons

Answer 7

The angle at which sunlight strikes the Earth's surface is a greater determiner of how much energy is received than the distance from Sun to Earth.  In fact, for the Northern Hemisphere, summer corresponds generally to longer Earth-Sun distance than winter.

Answer 8

First thing: not twice a year, its only once....

Second thing: its a tilt of Mother Earth that makes seasons..

Interestingly, when Mother Earth is closer to Sun, its WINTER....and when it is away from Sun, its Summer.

Just because of the tilt, when Earth is closer to the Sun....daytime is smaller than nighttime (shadow more than the light)....and when Earth is away from the Sun....daytime is longer than the nighttime (light more than the shadow)..

Hope this explains what you wanna know, otherwise you can write me back.....thnx

Answer 9

different parts of the world pointing at the sun i guess.

dont really know havent learned it yet, i think :)

Answer 10

I think there is some cofustion do you have i tell you earth angle cause the sun to fall perpendicular on equator twice a year that time is march and sepeteber and these reasons are always hot throughout the year

But in june 22  the sun perpendiclar fall on line of cancer so these reason are hot during this time and the reasons laying near or beyond line of caoricon get colder

vise versa on dec 22 the sun directly fall on line of capricon and these reasons are hot but line of cancer gets colder

AS AGAIN THE EARTH COMES CLOSEST TO EARTH ON 22 MARCH AND 22 SEP  THAT IS DIRECTLY NEAR TO EQUATOR   SO MOST OF THE TIME AN OVERALL VIEW OF WEATHER BOTH LINE OF CANCER AND CAPRICAON  HAVE A PLEASENT WEATHER BUT NOT COLD AND EQUATOER ARE WILL REMAIN WARMERB ALL THE TIME

Answer 11

Assume that the sun is the o

During one of those times, the earth is tilted like this / o so the people on the top half of the earth, the part that is closer to the sun are having Summer.  The people on the bottom half, who are further from the sun, are having winter.

During the second time, the earth is tilted like this: o / and the opposite is true, the people on the top half are having winter and the people on the bottom are having summer.

This is what accounts for the fact that people in Australia have summer over Christmas.  The date of Christmas is the same, but we have cold weather and they have warm weather because it's their summer

Answer 12

The reason we have seasons:  It is not the average distance from the sun but rather the tilt of the earth.  If the earth is angled away from the sun during the day, sunlight has to travel through earth's atmosphere at an angle so we recieve less sunlight which is why we have winter.  In the summer the earth is on the oppposite side of the sun so we are angled more towards the sun during the day and the sun appears more overhead.  Now the sun doesn't have to shine through as much atmosphere to reach earth and we recieve more sunlight making it warmer.  But keep in mind that different parts of the earth have different seasons than us in America.  I hope this helps.

Answer 13

It has to do with the slight tilt of the earth. You will learn all this in school dear.

Xx.Shaiya.xX

Answer 14

Actually it's only once a year - it's closest around January 3rd (147.1 million km) and furthest around July 4th (149.6 million km). If it seems counter-intuitive that the Earth is closest to the sun during the winter, then you have to remember that when it's winter in the Northern hemisphere, it's summer in the Southern. The seasons are a result of the tilt of the Earth's axis - during one hemisphere's summer it is tilted towards the sun, so it rises higher in the sky and imparts more energy per given area of the surface, while the opposite hemisphere is tilted away from the sun.

Answer 15

The Earth is closest to the sun on or about January 6th, that is once per year.  This has nothing at all to do with seasons.  That is caused by the tilt of the Earth's rotational axis to it's orbital plane.

Answer 16

twice a year but not at the same time...once at 3pm and another at who knows