The hemisphere that tilts toward the Sun receives more direct sunlight over a broader area, causing longer summer days. At the same time, the opposite hemisphere receives less direct sunlight over a smaller area, causing shorter winter days.

The change between day and night is caused by the rotation of the Earth on its axis. The changing lengths of days and nights depends on where you are on Earth and the time of year. Also, daylight hours are affected by the tilt of the Earth’s axis and its path around the sun.

This pattern is caused by the tilt of Earth’s axis. At some points in Earth’s orbit around the Sun, the tilt causes one hemisphere to lean toward the Sun while the other one is tilted away. The hemisphere that is leaning toward the Sun has summer, with more hours of daylight.

As seasons change, the number of daylight hours changes too. Explanation: There is a direct relationship between seasons and the number of daylight hours. During the spring and summer, longer days mean more daylight hours because of the Sun’s tilt and position; during the winter, the days are shorter.

The Short Answer: Earth’s tilted axis causes the seasons. Throughout the year, different parts of Earth receive the Sun’s most direct rays. So, when the North Pole tilts toward the Sun, it’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere. And when the South Pole tilts toward the Sun, it’s winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

In winter months, the Earth has traveled to the other side of the Sun causing the North Pole to point away from the Sun. Therefore the sun rises later and sets earlier in the winter compared to the summer, meaning there’s less daylight in the winter.

Bottom line: The 2020 December solstice takes place on Monday, December 21 at 10:02 UTC (4:02 a.m. CST; translate UTC to your time). It marks the Northern Hemisphere’s shortest day (first day of winter) and Southern Hemisphere’s longest day (first day of summer).

Daylight Saving Time Today Today, most Americans spring forward (turn clocks ahead and lose an hour) on the second Sunday in March (at 2:00 A.M.) and fall back (turn clocks back and gain an hour) on the first Sunday in November (at 2:00 A.M.).

After the summer solstice, the days start getting shorter – the length of daylight starts to decrease. The second solstice of the year, the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is the day with the shortest period of daylight and will take place on Tuesday, December 21, 2021.

June 21

The year 2020 included 28 shortest days since 1960 and 2021 is predicted to be even shorter. According to Time and Date, on average, with respect to the Sun, Earth rotates once every 86,400 seconds, which equals 24 hours, or one mean solar day.

If you calculate that tiny difference in Earth’s orbital radius back to the birth of our solar system, the year hasn’t grown longer by a whole heck of a lot. The speed of Earth’s orbit around the Sun is determined by the radius of the orbit, so it isn’t changing, and our year is remaining constant in length.

What is the reason? According to a 2015 study published in Science Advances, global warming may be the reason behind the Earth’s speedier rotation. As glaciers melt, mass redistribution is causing the planet to shift and spin faster on its axis.

Scientists say Earth is spinning faster than it has in decades. The Earth’s 28 fastest days on record (since 1960) all occurred in 2020. The Earth’s rotation can change slightly because of weather and ocean patterns.

Short answer – the reversed spin would make the Earth much greener. Long answer – this new rotation would change winds and ocean currents, and that would shift the planet’s climate entirely. Instead, a different current would surface in the Pacific and become responsible to distributing heat around the globe.