How does a change in the Earths tilt result in more/less energy received from the sun?
In: 4
Two things:
* time of sunlight
* intensity of sunlight
The most noticeable effect of Earth’s tilt is the difference in the length of daylight between hemispheres on the solstices. When the sun shines, Earth’s surface heats up, as does the atmosphere just above it. When the sun does not shine, Earth’s surface cools off. In Summer, the surface spends more time heating up than cooling off. In Winter, the surface spends more time cooling off. Most of the energy received depends on the duration of sunlight the surface receives from season to season.
Another consequence of Earth’s tilt is the maximum height above the horizon the sun reaches. The higher the sun, the less of its light is scattered by Earth’s atmosphere. The effect is not as intense as differences in time between day and night, but is not insignificant.
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