Earth's Seasons

seasons
The four seasons vary significantly in characteristics, and can prompt changes in the world around them.
(Image credit: Shelli Jensen | Shutterstock)
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Earth's seasons — winter, spring, summer and autumn(or fall) — are caused by the yearly revolution of the Earth in its orbit around the sun and the planet's tilt. When the Northern Hemisphere is pointed toward the sun, it is summer, and when it is pointed away, it is winter (and vice versa for the Southern Hemisphere). Summer and winter are heralded by their respective solstices, while spring and fall begin at an equinox, when the sun crosses Earth's equator and night day are roughly equal length. Below, our stories that relate to Earth's seasons and the ways they affect us.

Montane tropical rainforest on the slopes of Mount Elgon.
Earth's seasons vary wildly, even at the same latitude, new research finds

Earth's seasons look very different at locations not far from each other, 20 years' worth of satellite data reveals.

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