What makes the days shorter

However, the first day of a season as usually defined on a calendar falls near the same dates as these astronomical events. In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice occurs around December 22; summer solstice, June 22; spring equinox, March 21; and fall equinox, September Amy Dusto is a high school science teacher and a freelance writer.

She has contributed to Discovery. Calendar Year vs. Earth Orbit. How Many Hours of Daylight in Summer? Sun Intensity vs. The solstice was important enough in these cultures to dictate the construction of massive monuments. There are several monuments that face, frame, or otherwise highlight the Winter Solstice sunrise and sunset.

While there are hundreds in Egypt alone, let alone throughout the world, below you will find a few from different parts of the world:. Test-Taking Tips for Students. Teaching Kids the Dangers of Smoking and Vaping. Wilmot Rd. In the ancient Mayan city of Tulum in Mexico, there is a building which is still standing that has a small cap with a hole in it; on solstice days, both June and December, the light of the sun passes through that feature and creates a brilliant starburst effect.

In Ireland, there is a massive one-acre burial mound at Newgrange which was constructed to capture the light of the Winter Solstice sunrise. Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40, subscribers can't be wrong.

Depending on where you are on the planet, the difference in the length of the day from season to season can be larger or smaller. Higher latitudes are closer to the poles, while 0 degrees in latitude is the equator itself. But as the Earth is a sphere, the higher latitudes near the poles are already curving away from the Sun and therefore receiving less sunlight every 24 hours.

With an extra Equinoxes and solstices are not only key dates in the calendar but also in the journey of Earth around the Sun.

They are used to outline the transitional periods between the seasons — when winter changes to spring, summer to autumn, and so on. How long days and nights are will depend on the position of the Sun in the relation to the Earth. The equinox happens twice a year and marks the when the amount of day-time we get is equal to the amount of night time we get — the day is equal to the night.

This takes place when the sun is positioned right above the equator. It happens usually around the 20th of March, which is the spring equinox , and again around the 22nd of September, known as the autumn equinox. This tilt is the reason that days are longer in the summer and shorter in the winter. It orbits or circles the Sun, making an oval shape. One orbit takes one year. Because the Earth is tilted, one hemisphere will be closest to the Sun for part of the year.

But as Earth continues orbiting the Sun, that tilt puts the other hemisphere closer to the Sun.