THE EARTH IN SPACE: What is The Earth in Space?

The Earth in Space. This view of Earth as a blue marble, first seen by Apollo astronauts
in 1968, captures the unique beauty of our home planet.

THE EARTH IN SPACE: What is the sun and earth?

The sun not only has a much larger radius than Earth—it is also much more massive.
The sun's mass is more than 333,000 times that of Earth, and contains about 99.8
percent of all of the mass in the entire solar system! The sun is made up of a blazing
combination of gases. These gases are actually in the form of plasma.

THE EARTH IN SPACE: Earth-Sun relationship

The Earth revolves (orbits) around the Sun in one year. The Earth's rotation axis is tilted
relative to the plane of its orbit around the Sun. This tilt of the Earth is responsible for
the seasons as the Earth orbits the Sun. The Sun provides energy that sustains all life
on Earth.

THE EARTH IN SPACE: Cause Of The Seasons

Season is a division of the year characterized by specific weather conditions,

temperatures, and daylight hours.

There are four (4) primary seasons:

1. Spring: This season typically marks the transition from winter to

summer.Temperatures rise, flowers bloom, and trees regain their leaves.
2. Summer: The warmest season, characterized by longer days, higher temperatures,
and abundant sunlight.

3. Autumn (Fall): During this season, temperatures begin to cool, and trees shed their
leaves. It is often associated with harvest time.

4. Winter: The coldest season, featuring shorter days, lower temperatures, and, in many
regions, snow and ice.
SEASONS

Primarily caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis and its orbit around the Sun. The Earth's
axis is tilted at an angle of approximately 23.5 degrees relative to its orbital plane. As
the Earth orbits the Sun, different parts of the planet receive varying amounts of sunlight
at different times of the year.

Northern and Southern Hemispheres

Here's a fun fact: While it's snowing and chilly in the Northern Hemisphere, our friends in
the Southern Hemisphere might be hitting the beach. Why this drastic difference? The
answer lies in how the sun's rays hit Earth.

As the Earth spins on its axis, one hemisphere leans toward the sun while the other
leans away from the sun. When the Northern Hemisphere tilts towards our fiery star, it
gets the sun's direct rays, leading to the toasty summer months. When it tilts away, the
days grow shorter and colder, meaning the Southern Hemisphere experiences opposite
seasons, with winter setting in when the north enjoys its summers and vice versa.

The cause of the seasons on Earth is primarily due to the tilt of the Earth's axis and its
orbit around the Sun
TILT OF EARTHS AXIS

The Earth's axis is tilted at an angle of approximately 23.5 degrees relative to its orbital
plane around the Sun. This tilt means that different parts of the Earth receive varying
amounts of sunlight throughout the year.

ORBITAL MOTION

As the Earth orbits the Sun, different parts of the Earth receive direct sunlight at
different times of the year. When a particular hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, it
experiences longer daylight hours and receives more direct sunlight, resulting in warmer
temperatures and summer. Conversely, when that hemisphere is tilted away from the
Sun, it experiences shorter daylight hours and receives less direct sunlight, leading to
cooler temperatures and winter.

SEASONAL CHANGE

As the Earth continues its orbit around the Sun, the tilt of its axis causes the seasons to
change. There are four main points in Earth's orbit that mark the beginning of each
season: the two equinoxes (spring and autumn) and the two solstices (summer and
winter). During an equinox, the Earth's axis is neither tilted towards nor away from the
Sun, resulting in roughly equal daylight and nighttime hours. During a solstice, one
hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun (summer solstice) or away from the Sun (winter
solstice), resulting in the longest or shortest day of the year, respectively.

• The combination of the Earth's axial tilt and its orbit around the Sun leads to the
changinog seasons experienced on Earth

THE EARTH IN SPACE: Solar energy

Solar energy refers to the radiant light and heat emitted by the sun. It is a renewable and
sustainable source of power that can be harnessed using various technologies to
generate electricity or provide heat for residential, commercial, and industrial
applications.
The primary methods of capturing solar energy include photovoltaic systems, which
convert sunlight into electricity, and solar thermal systems, which utilize the sun's heat
for various purposes such as heating water or producing steam for electricity
generation. Solar energy is considered environmentally friendly, as it produces minimal
pollution and reduces dependence on fossil fuels.

THE EARTH IN SPACE: The Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect is a natural process that occurs in the Earth's atmosphere. It
refers to the trapping of heat near the Earth's surface by certain gases.

A greenhouse is a building with a glass walls and a glass roof. The clear glass allows
the sunlight to shine into the greenhouse, while also trapping the sun heat inside.

Some of the heat is trapped by the gases in the atmosphere. These heat-trapping gases
are called greenhouse gases.

The greenhouse effect is essential for maintaining a habitable temperature on Earth.The

greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon that has been occurring for millions of
years. However, human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation,
have significantly increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
This enhanced greenhouse effect, often referred to as global warming, is causing the
Earth's temperature to rise at an alarming rate, leading to various environmental and
climatic changes.
THE EARTH IN SPACE: The Earth's Energy Budget

It is the balance between the amount of energy coming into the earth system and the
amount of energy out of the earth system. For earth's energy budget to be stable,the
incoming and outgoing enegy must be equal. The incoming energy from the sun when it
reaches the earth can be reflected, absorbed, moved around from one of the earth
spheres to another, re-emitted as infrared radiation

This Diagram shows the exact percentages of

incoming and out going radiation. The Sun which is
transmitting energy to the earth. About 30% of energy
is reflected back into space. In 30%, 6% is reflected
by gases and particles in the atmosphere. 20% is
reflected back by the clouds and 4% is reflected back
by the earth. The fraction of the light reflected by a surface is called albedo. Light
colored surfaces like clouds, snow and dessert reflects back a lot of light because their
composition and surface characteristics. They have surfaces that bounce light back,
creating a bright and reflective appearance. But dark colored surfaces like oceans and
forests tend to absorb light because their composition and surface properties, resulting
in the ocean's blue color and the forest's green appearance.

The amount of sunlight reflected back into the space depends on how much ice and
snow there is as well as how much clouds there is. The 70% of light is absorbed. 16% is
absorbed by the gases, dust and any particles in the earth. 3% is absorbed by clouds
and 51% is absorbed at earth's surface. When energy is absorbed by a substance, it
makes the particles move faster and the temperature increase.

The 23% is absorbed by the earths surface moved to the atmosphere through the
evaporation of water and this also includes transpiration of water from trees and other
plants. Evaporation is an endothermic process,which means that water needs to take in
energy in order to evaporate. This energy is solar energy that is absorbed by water
particles in the ocean. Condensation is an exothermic process and energy is released
into the atmosphere.The 7% of the absorbed solar energy leaves the surface through
conduction, 15% of solar energy is radiated back as infrared radiation.

The Greenhouse gases can radiate this energy back towards the earth. Energy comes in
as UV and visible light and it goes back out infrared radiation. If there is more energy
coming into the earths system than going back out into the space,this will result in the
earths getting warmer.

The energy budget is balanced when the incoming solar radiation equals the outgoing
energy, which includes reflected solar radiation and emitted thermal radiation. However,
human activities have increased greenhouse gas concentrations, leading to an
enhanced greenhouse effect and an energy imbalance. This imbalance contributes to
global warming and climate change, resulting in rising temperature.