I went to bed last night wondering where the Sun had gone. Then it dawned on me. A little astronomy humor to begin a serious discussion on our life-giving star—the Sun.

Our Sun coalesced out of a vast cloud of gas and dust some 100 times the size of our solar system roughly five billion years ago. Gravity contracted this mass until the core of this proto-star reached about 24.5 million degrees Fahrenheit. At that time nuclear fusion began, converting about 600 million tons of hydrogen to helium per second. This process has been ongoing since then.

Most folks take for granted that the Sun rises and sets every day due to the Earth’s almost 24-hour rotation. The only change most people recognize is the seasonal cycles caused by the fixed 23.5 degree tilt of our planet’s axis in its orbital path about the Sun. Reference this video to refresh your memory on the Earth’s annual journey.

Folklore tells us that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. While March is meteorologically a spring month, here in New England and other mid-latitude locations throughout America, it is still cold and snowy when it commences and much milder and rainy at month’s end. Hence the comparison to the ferocity of a lion and the tranquility of a lamb. However, this explanation, attributed to the early American Colonists, is not globally applicable. We must turn to astronomy for a more inclusive answer.

It’s really quite simple. When March begins, the constellation Leo the lion is rising above the eastern horizon just after sunset, and at month’s end Aries the ram can be found setting below the western horizon at sunset. This sky clockwork has not appreciably changed for thousands of years. Our ancestors observed the appearance of these star patterns and ascribed significance to their seasonal arrival and departure in the sky.

Most everyone links the weather with seasonal changes. However, through my decades of public outreach and teaching astronomy, I know many folks are misinformed as to the reason for the season(s). Some individuals believe the northern hemisphere summer is hot because the Earth is closest (perihelion) to the Sun at that point in its orbit. Quite the opposite is true. Earth is at perihelion (approximately 91,000,000 miles) in early January, while farthest (aphelion) from the Sun at the beginning of July (approximately 94,000,000 miles). Even this three million mile difference has little effect on the Earth and its environment. The seasonal changes are the result of the Earth’s axial tilt as it orbits the Sun.

Continue reading Reason for the Seasons →