Information about Effect Of Sun Angle On Climate
)
Figure 1
This is a diagram of the seasons. Regardless of the time of day (i.e. the Earth's rotation on its axis), the North Pole will be dark, and the South Pole will be illuminated; see also arctic winter. In addition to the density of incident light, the dissipation of light in the atmosphere is greater when it falls at a shallow angle.
This is a diagram of the seasons. Regardless of the time of day (i.e. the Earth's rotation on its axis), the North Pole will be dark, and the South Pole will be illuminated; see also arctic winter. In addition to the density of incident light, the dissipation of light in the atmosphere is greater when it falls at a shallow angle.
The angle at which sunlight strikes the earth, which varies by location, time of day, and season, is an important factor in the amount of heat energy received at any location on the globe. Seasonal change in the angle of sunlight, caused by the tilt of the earth's axis, is the basic mechanism that results in warmer weather in summer than in winter (see Figure 1). (See also season.)
Geometry of sun angle
)
Figure 2
One sunbeam one mile wide shines on the ground at a 90° angle, and another at a 30° angle. The one at a shallower angle covers twice as much area with the same amount of light.
One sunbeam one mile wide shines on the ground at a 90° angle, and another at a 30° angle. The one at a shallower angle covers twice as much area with the same amount of light.
When sunlight shines on the earth at a lower angle (sun closer to the horizon), the energy of the sunlight is spread over a larger area, and is therefore weaker than if the sun is higher overhead and the energy is concentrated on a smaller area. (See Figure 2.)
Figure 1 shows the angle of sunlight striking the earth in the Northern and equator when the earth's northern axis is tilted away from the sun.
Figure 2 depicts a sunbeam one mile wide falling on the ground from directly overhead, and another hitting the ground at a 30° angle. Trigonometry tells us that the sine of a 30° angle is 1/2, whereas the sine of a 90° angle is 1. Therefore, the sunbeam hitting the ground at a 30° angle spreads the same amount of light over twice as much area (if we imagine the sun shining from the south at noon, the north-south width doubles; the east-west width does not). Consequently, the amount of light falling on each square mile is only half as much.
The sunbeam entering at the shallower angle must also travel twice as far through the Earth's atmosphere, which reflects some of the energy back into space.
See also
Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total spectrum of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is filtered through the atmosphere, and the solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
This article is about rotation as a movement of a physical body. For other uses, see Rotation (disambiguation).
A rotation is a movement of an object in a circular motion...... Click the link for more information.
Summer is one of the four seasons of the year. In the West, the seasons are generally considered to start at the equies and solstices, based on astronomical reckoning. In English-language calendars, based on astronomy, summer begins on the day of the summer solstice and ends on the
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Winter is one of the four seasons of temperate zones. Almost all English-language calendars, going by astronomy, state that winter begins on the winter solstice, and ends on the spring equinox.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Seasons
Temperate
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Tropical
Dry
season Cool
Hot
Wet season
A season is one of the major divisions of the year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in weather.
..... Click the link for more information.
Temperate
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Tropical
Dry
season Cool
Hot
Wet season
A season is one of the major divisions of the year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in weather.
..... Click the link for more information.
Northern Hemisphere or northern hemisphere[1] is the half of a planet that is north of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
equator is an imaginary line on the Earth's surface equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole. It thus divides the Earth into a Northern Hemisphere and a Southern Hemisphere. The equators of other planets and astronomical bodies are defined analogously.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Trigonometry (from Greek trigōnon "triangle" + metron "measure"[1]), informally called trig, is a branch of mathematics that deals with triangles, particularly triangles in a plane where one angle of the triangle is 90 degrees (right angled
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
trigonometric functions (also called circular functions) are functions of an angle. They are important in the study of triangles and modeling periodic phenomena, among many other applications.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Noon is 12:00 at midday. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the moment when the sun crosses the meridian. The sun does cross the meridian at noon, apparent solar time, but we live by civil time (which is either Standard Time or Daylight Saving Time depending on the time
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass.[1] The gases are attracted by the gravity of the body, and are retained for a longer duration if gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
In astronomy, axial tilt is the inclination angle of a planet's rotational axis in relation to a perpendicular to its orbital plane. It is also called axial inclination or obliquity.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Seasons
Temperate
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Tropical
Dry
season Cool
Hot
Wet season
A season is one of the major divisions of the year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in weather.
..... Click the link for more information.
Temperate
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Tropical
Dry
season Cool
Hot
Wet season
A season is one of the major divisions of the year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in weather.
..... Click the link for more information.
In astronomy, declination (abbrev. dec or δ) is one of the two coordinates of the equatorial coordinate system, the other being either right ascension or hour angle.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus
