Change of Seasons

If we look and observe, we are surrounded by several phenomena. None of these phenomena is constant; they keep on changing and evolving, and this is the beauty of this world; it keeps on breaking the monotony. Similarly, the change in the seasons is not a mythical tale but actually it involves a whole physics in it. It is a process of rotation of the Earth exposed to Sun at a certain angle that tends to change the seasons. Let’s talk about the science of seasons change in this anecdote.

Basically the Earth's tilted axis causes the seasons to change in a simple manner. To understand this, one must comprehend the rotation of Earth first. The Earth not just revolves around the sun but also spins on its own axis. The axis of the Earth is actually vertical which means it cannot be measured through the imaginary lines that extends from the South Pole to the North. This tilt can be measured vertically at angle of 23.5°. The planet Earth tends to tilt in the same direction every time it orbits around the sun. Since the Sun directs its radiations at planet Earth, the rays do not fall upon the entire planet but a certain part of it. For example, when North pole is exposed to the Sun rays with Earth’s tilt, Northern Hemisphere experiences the change of season as summer. Similarly, When South pole tilts towards the Sun; it is then winter in the Northern Hemisphere as shown in the figure given below:

As long as a certain part of Earth is exposed to sun rays, the certain season is prolonged. This is the fact why some countries tend to have long summers and winters when compared to others. For example, from March till September, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, so this occurs and the northern half of the Earth experiences spring and summer. During the same time period, the Southern Hemisphere experiences change of seasons as autumn and winter. On planet Earth, seasons usually last between 90 to 93 days. Just like planet Earth, the other planets also experience the change in seasons and the length and intensity of each season varies from planet to planet.

You might have observed, the change in the seasons tend to occur more tentatively from past few years now and this is alarming. This is due to many reasons; the earth is becoming hotter and hotter because it is exposed to UV radiations more with the depletion of the ozone layer. Ozone is depleting owing to the rapid carbon combustion, deforestation etc., giving rise to global warming which today has become a problem worldwide. In order to avoid alarming situations like these, we must quit the use of fossil fuels and carbon combustion, pollution and must go for forestation to save the planet Earth from the abrupt changes in the environment for a peaceful sustainable ecosystem.