Weather and Seasons
Earth is able to support a wide varaety of living beings becuse of its diverse climates, which range from extremly cold in the poles, to tropical heat at the equator.
Why do we have Seasons?
The main cause the Seasons is becuase of the tilt of th Earth's axis as it moves around the sun. As the picture shows, the reason why the equator is warm all year long is because the equator gets the most direct sunlight.
Solstices; The solstice, which is when the sun is at its highest or lowest point, occurs 2 times a year. The summer solstice in June 21 in which the daytime is the longest, and the winter soltice around Dececmber 21 in which the nighttime is the longest.
Equinoxes; They mark the begining of spring and autumn. When the sun is direcly above the Earths equator, neither hemisphere of the earth is not tilted towards the sun. So the length of day and night are the same during these days.
The Vernal Equinox is at March, 22nd and the Autumnal Equinox is September, 22nd.
Solstices; The solstice, which is when the sun is at its highest or lowest point, occurs 2 times a year. The summer solstice in June 21 in which the daytime is the longest, and the winter soltice around Dececmber 21 in which the nighttime is the longest.
Equinoxes; They mark the begining of spring and autumn. When the sun is direcly above the Earths equator, neither hemisphere of the earth is not tilted towards the sun. So the length of day and night are the same during these days.
The Vernal Equinox is at March, 22nd and the Autumnal Equinox is September, 22nd.
Why do we have weather
Wind is caused by differences in air pressure. They tend to travel from high to low pressure. The main reason for weather is because of global winds. Global winds blow over long distanced from a specific direction. These global winds move in huge bands called Convection cells. This is what moves around clouds and gives different parts of the world different weathers.
Air Masses are a large body of air with uniform properties. They form when large body of air becomes stationary. They are classified on where they formed. Air masses that circulate the world. Polar air masses move toward equator and tropic air masses move toward poles.
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A front is a boundary that forms when to unlike air masses meet. Front comes with clouds and precipitation.
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Classifying Clouds
Stratus Clouds
Flat Cover much/all of sky |
Cumulus Clouds
Puffy White Fair Weather Clouds |
Cirrus Clouds
Thin, wispy High in sky Low Temperature |