II. Earth and Sun

A. Day and Night

  1. Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours
  2. receives light when facing the sun (day)

B. Seasons (fig. 1-21)

  1. Rotation axis of the Earth is tilted 231/2 ° away from perpendicular to plane of ecliptic (fig. 1-22, 1-21, 1-20)
  2. This means that one pole is facing toward the sun while the other pole is tilted away from the sun
  3. As the Earth revolves around the sun, the N pole faces the sun when the sun is between the Earth and the North Star, but faces away from the sun when the Earth is between the sun and the North Star.
  4. perihelion and aphelion (fig. 1-19)

C. Temperature variations

  1. sun angle - angle of incidence
  2. length of day - (Table 1-6)

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