I always thought the shorter day means the earth is further away from the sun, so why is all of winter after that point? (Similarly with summer).
In: Physics
Firstly, the seasons and lengths of the days have nothing to do with our distance from the Sun. The seasons are caused by the fact that Earth is tilted on its axis. In Winter one hemisphere is tilted away and so the sun is lower in the sky and its light is spread out over a larger area. Remember that while it’s winter in one hemisphere it’s summer in the other.
Secondly, seasons are defined in numerous different ways. The astronomical reckoning uses the solstice and following equinox to define it, because it takes a while for the planet to cool down and so the coldest period usually falls roughly between those points. Other methods just use, say, December-February etc.
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