Why do we have seasons?

Earth takes a whole year to travel around the Sun. Press play and watch what happens to the sunlight along the way!

Where do you live?

The USA, Canada, Europe, China and India are in the North half. Australia, Argentina and South Africa are in the South half.

A day in your town

The yellow dashes show the Sun's path across your sky today. The faint lines are its paths on the first days of summer and winter.

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How high the Sun climbs at lunchtime

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Hours of daylight

Day and night

Sunshine power

The flashlight test

Shine a flashlight straight down and you get a small, bright spot. Tilt it and the same light spreads out and gets weaker. Sunlight works the same way!

What if Earth leaned differently?

23.5°

Myth or fact?

“It's summer because Earth is closer to the Sun.”

Myth! Earth is actually closest to the Sun in early January. That's winter in the North half! The distance only changes a tiny bit. The lean is what makes the seasons.

Closest (January)Farthest (July)

Did you know?

Not to scale! The real Sun is 109 times wider than Earth and much, much farther away. We shrank space and slowed Earth's spin so everything fits on your screen.