Summer solstice is the longest day/gets most direct sun light. Doesn’t that mean the warmest season is 1/8 year before and after it? So summer solstice should be the middle of summer instead, right? Or is there delay between sunlight hitting earth and earth getting warm?
In: Earth Science
On some planets in our solar system, the hottest day of the year is also the longest day of the year. This happens on Mars, for example. It makes intuitive sense – the longer the surface of the planet spends in the sun, the warmer it gets.
However, on the Earth, we have an awful lot of water on the surface of the planet, and it takes a lot of energy to heat water. So on Earth, the seasons lag behind the sun by several months. The gas giants also have seasonal lag for about the same reason that the Earth does.
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