Science Fact Finder | Space - Is It True That During The Northern Hemisphere Winter, The Earth Is Closer To The Sun Than It Is During The Northern Hemisphere Summer?

Is it true that during the Northern Hemisphere winter, the Earth is closer to the sun than it is during the Northern Hemisphere summer?

Yes. Seasons exist because the Earth's axis, the line around which the planet rotates, is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees with respect to the Earth's plane of revolution around the sun. (A plane is an imaginary surface running through all points along an orbit.) When Earth is closest to the sun, about January 3, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun. Thus, it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

When the Earth is farthest from the sun, around July 4, the situation is reversed and the Northern Hemisphere tilts toward the sun. At this time it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sources: Magill, Frank N. Magill's Survey of Science (Earth Science...

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