Earth’s Rotation

DAY and NIGHT Axis of Rotation – an imaginary line

running through Earth’s center that allows Earth to rotate.

End of the axis are the NORTH and SOUTH poles.

NORTH P O L E

SOUTHP O L E

Any location on Earth’s surface moves from WEST to EAST as Earth turns.

DAY and NIGHT

North Pole

The way Earth Rotates

½ Earth is in Sunlight

½ Earth is in Darkness

DAY and NIGHT

If it is noon at one location , what time is it at a location directly on the other side of the Earth?

1 FULL rotation on Earth’s Axis = 1 day (24 Hours)

DAY and NIGHT

SeasonsRevolution – the motion of one

object around another.

The Earth is tilted at about a 23.5 degree angle.

If Earth’s rotation and orbit lined up perfectly what would that mean for Earth’s Seasons?

Earth’s orbit is NOT quite a perfect circle.

Seasons

Earth is about 5 million kilometers closer to the Sun

148,000,000 km 153,000,000 km

Earth is about 5 million kilometers further away then the Sun

Seasons – patterns of temperature changes and other weather trends over the course of a year.

Seasons

Near the poles, very large changes in temperature from winter to summer.

Near the equator, very little temperature changes all year.

Equinox – sunlight shines equally on the northern and southern hemispheres.

Solstice – the area of sunlight is at a maximum in one hemisphere and a minimum in the other hemisphere.

Both occur on or around the 21st day of certain months of the year.

Seasons

Lengths of Days

The further from the equator the more extreme the changes in day length become.

In the North Pole the sun does not set at all for 6 months at a time.

In the South Pole the sun does not rise for 6 months at a time.

Near the equator, the periods of daylight and darness are almost equal year-roudn. ~ 12 hours

HOMEWORK

Unit E : Space Science : Chapter 2 : Page 49 : Questions : 1- 6