Directions: Use the information provided and your knowledge of Earth and Space Sciences to answer the following questions. Show all work where necessary.
Directions: Use the information provided and your knowledge of Earth and Space Sciences to answer the following questions. Show all work where necessary.
While Earth orbits the sun, the planet is simultaneously spinning around an imaginary line called an axis that runs through the core, from the North Pole to the South Pole. It takes Earth 23.934 hours to complete a rotation on its axis and 365.26 days to complete an orbit around the sun - our days and years on Earth are defined by these gyrations.
Earth's axis of rotation is tilted in relation to the ecliptic plane, an imaginary surface through the planet's orbit around the sun. This means the Northern and Southern Hemispheres will sometimes point toward or away from the sun depending on the time of year, and this changes the amount of light the hemispheres receive, resulting in the changing seasons.
Earth happens to orbit the sun within the so-called "Goldilocks zone," where temperatures are just right to maintain liquid water on our planet's surface. Earth's orbit is not a perfect circle, but rather a slightly oval-shaped ellipse, similar to the orbits of all the other planets in our solar system. Our planet is a bit closer to the sun in early January and farther away in July, although this proximity has a much smaller effect on the temperatures we experience on the planet's surface than does the tilt of Earth's axis.
Statistics about Earth's orbit, according to NASA: | Data |
|---|---|
Average distance from the sun: | 92,956,050 miles (149,598,262 km) |
Perihelion (closest approach to the sun): | 91,402,640 miles (147,098,291 km) |
Aphelion (farthest distance from the sun): | 94,509,460 miles (152,098,233 km) |
Length of solar day (single rotation on its axis): | 23.934 hours |
Length of year (single revolution around the sun): | 365.26 days |
Equatorial inclination to orbit: | 23.4393 degrees |
Explain what it means that Earth’s orbit is elliptical rather than perfectly circular.
When is Earth closest to the Sun, and what is this position called?
Explain why the distance between Earth and the Sun does not cause the seasons.
Using the NASA orbital data provided, calculate the difference in distance between Earth’s perihelion and aphelion in miles.
Why does Earth’s axial tilt have a greater effect on seasonal temperature than its elliptical orbit?
Explain how Earth’s rotation and revolution work together to define a day and a year.
Describe how Kepler’s First Law supports the claim that Earth’s orbit is elliptical.
Which of the following statements about Earth’s orbit is accurate?