Introduction:

Every time you wake up from sleep, you find yourself witnessing a spectacular display of the first rays of the sun sneaking behind the horizon, as if it were an artistic painting consuming the colors of dawn. The sun moves across the sky throughout the day, reaching its zenith at noon and sending its rays at a nearly vertical angle. It then moves from one side to another, disappearing in its enchanting sunset, as if playing a role in this celestial spectacle. Although the impression suggests that the sun is moving around the Earth, the cosmic truth reveals to us that it is the Earth that orbits the sun. Those warm rays and bright light form a result of the Earth's movement around its axis and not the other way around. It is a daily journey of the planets in our sky, reflecting the marvel of the cosmic system of which we are a part.

Article elements:

1.    Earth's Rotation:

2.    Earth's Rotation around its Axis:

3.    Earth's Orbit around the Sun:

4.    Seasons:

5.    Conclusion:

Earth's Rotation:

After waking up from sleep, you notice the sun on the horizon during sunrise, and at noon, it is in the middle of the sky, sending its rays almost vertically. At sunset, it disappears beyond the horizon, making you feel that the sun is moving. The truth is that the Earth is the one rotating around the sun.

Earth's Rotation around its Axis:

The Earth rotates around an imaginary line passing through its center called the axis. Figure 1 illustrates the rotation of the Earth around its axis. The Earth rotates around its axis once every 24 hours, so the sun appears to us every morning due to this cycle. During the day, the sun seems to move across the sky (setting in the evening) because your location on Earth is rotating away from the sun. The movement of the sun that you see in the sky is called apparent motion. Similarly, stars, planets, and the moon also exhibit apparent motion in the sky. How can you know that the motion of a body is apparent, resulting from the Earth's rotation?

Why does the sun appear to us as if it is moving in the sky?

Earth's Orbit around the Sun:

The Earth rotates around itself and, at the same time, moves around the sun in an elliptical, regular path called the orbit. The Earth's year is the time it takes for the Earth to complete one rotation around the sun.

Seasons:

The reason for the occurrence of the four seasons is attributed to the tilt of the Earth's axis during its orbit around the sun. The Earth's axis is not vertical but tilted, giving rise to the four seasons. How does the summer occur in a part of the Earth when that part is tilted toward the sun, causing the sun's rays to fall on the Earth at a nearly vertical angle? You may have noticed that your shadow is shorter at noon in the summer compared to winter, and the heat of the sun is more intense in summer than in winter. This is due to the angle of the sun's rays and the longer daylight hours in summer compared to winter. These two factors contribute to making summer warmer than winter. After six months, the same part of the Earth tilts away from the sun, and the sun's rays fall on its surface at a much lower angle, and the day becomes shorter, and the night longer, leading to winter. The seasons of spring and autumn begin when the Earth's axis is not tilted toward or away from the sun.

Conclusion:

1.    With each rotation of the Earth around itself and around the sun, we witness a new station in this remarkable astronomical journey.

2.    The sun appears to send us messages from different angles throughout the day, and the seasons play their ever-renewing melody with the tilt of the Earth's axis. In summer, the scorching rays of the sun engulf us at a nearly vertical angle, while winter comes with its long shadows and crisp coldness.

3.    With each sunrise and sunset, we explore the complexities and beauties of the universe, always reminding us that we are a small part of this grand and harmonious whole.

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