A 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth on its axis gives us the seasons. Since the Earth's orbit is, somewhat, circular around the Sun seasons are created due to the tilt of the Earth. If there were no tilt, there would be little or no seasonal variation. The only way to create seasons without such an axial tilt is to alter the orbit of the planet, making it extremely eccentric as opposed to the almost circular orbit of the Earth

On the 22 of December the Sun is at a 90 degree angle with the Tropic of Capricorn. The Northern hemisphere is in the Winter solstice while the Southern hemisphere is in the Summer solstice. A solstice occurs twice a year, the Summer solstice and the Winter solstice. The time of the year when the sun reaches its highest point in the summer sky at midday is known as the summer solstice and marks the longest day. On the other side of the world, the winter solstice is marked by the shortest day of the year and occurs when the sun is at its lowest point in the midday sky.

To clarify the difference between a solstice and an equinox think of it this way.
An equinox represents a day where the period of daylight is the same as the period of night, where as a solstice is a day where the period of night or day is at it's longest or shortest. Both a solstice and an equinox occur twice a year.

On the 22 of June the Sun is overhead of the Tropic of Cancer and the Northern hemisphere is in the Summer solstice as it receives the most amount of solar radiation.

On the 22 March the Northern hemisphere is in the Spring equinox and the Southern hemisphere is in the Autumn equinox. At this time of the year similar solar radiation falls on both hemispheres and the angle of the Sun starts to decrease towards the poles.

On the 22 of September once again similar solar radiation falls on both hemispheres and the Northern hemisphere is in the Autumn equinox while the Southern hemisphere is in Spring equinox.

At what times of the year are the days and nights the same length all over the Earth? Explain why

What is responsible for the seasons? Huge solar eruptions on the Sun's surface The magnetic field around the Earth. Earth's axial tilt Earth's orbit around the Sun.

When the North pole is starting to tilt away from the Sun Trees in the Southern hemisphere produce a variety of coloured leafs Trees in the Southern hemisphere drop their leafs Trees in the Northern hemisphere sprout leafs Trees in the Southern hemisphere start to blossom and grow leafs.

When the Antarctic region is experiencing a 24 hour day, Australia is experiencing Summer Winter Autumn Spring

What is the main reason why Summer months are warmer than winter months? During summer the Earth is closer to the Sun than it is in the Winter months Due to the tilt of the Earth more light falls in a particular hemisphere causing warmer temperatures. Huge solar flares occur more frequently on the Sun's surface during Summer than in Winter. The magnetic field around the Earth is weaker during Summer than it is during Winter.

What effect does the Earth's tilt have? It causes clouds to form which cools the Earth's surface. It creates a magnetic field around the Earth with protects us from solar radiation It causes the Earth to spin, much like a spinning top. It causes a different amount of solar energy to fall on different parts of the Earth's surface.

During the Spring and Autumn equinoxes the Earth experiences very long nights and very short days is the warmest it will ever be through the year is tilted neither towards or away from the Sun. is traveling at it's slowest speed around the Sun

What is the difference between a solstice and an equinox? A solstice occurs twice a year and represents a day when the night is the longest for the entire year and an equinox is a day of the year when the Sun is at it's strongest. An equinox represents a day with equal period of day and night whereas a solstice represents a day of shortest or longest length. An equinox occurs in Spring and Winter where as a solstice occurs in Summer and Autumn. An equinox is a day of the year where the night is really short and a solstice is day of the year where the night is really long.

Summer in the Southern hemisphere is the season when the Sun erupts more strongly to produce more solar radiation Sun's rays fall on the Southern hemisphere at a shallow angle Earth is tilted towards the Sun Sun's rays strike the Southern hemisphere more directly.

When the Arctic circle experiences total darkness what is the period of darkness in the Antarctic circle? 24 hours of total darkness it is in 24 hours of total sunlight it is also in 24 hours of total darkness The length of day is equal to the length of night.

Life on Earth has evolved to take into account seasonal changes. Suggest how plant-life would have evolved on Earth if there was no axial tilt.

What impact do seasons have on the distribution food crops around the globe?