Question

1. why is the warmest day of the year in the united states (or in the northern hemisphere temperate zone) usually in august rather than on the day of the summer solstice, in late june?
2. when earths northern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun during june, some would argue that the cause of our seasons is that the northern hemisphere is physically closer to the sun than the southern hemisphere, and this is the primary reason the northern hemisphere is warmer. what argument or line of evidence could contradict this idea?
3. suppose earth took exactly 300.0 days to go around the sun, and everything else (the day, the month) was the same. what kind of calendar would we have? how would this affect the seasons?

Explanation:

1. The surface and atmosphere need time to absorb and store heat. Even though the summer - solstice has the most sunlight hours, it takes a while for the accumulated heat to peak, usually in August.
2. Earth's orbit is an ellipse, and the Northern Hemisphere is actually farther from the Sun during its summer. The tilt of the Earth's axis is the main cause of seasons, not distance from the Sun. For example, when the Northern Hemisphere is in summer, Earth is near its aphelion (farthest point from the Sun in its orbit).
3. A 300 - day year calendar would be shorter than the current one. The seasons would be about 15 - 16 days shorter. The timing of the seasons relative to months would shift over time as the current calendar is based on a 365.24 - day year. The seasonal cycle would still be based on Earth's tilt and orbit, but the months would no longer align well with the traditional seasonal divisions.

Answer:

1. The surface and atmosphere take time to heat up and store heat, so the warmest day is usually in August, not on the summer - solstice.
2. Earth's orbit is an ellipse, and the Northern Hemisphere is farther from the Sun during its summer (near aphelion), showing that distance is not the main cause of seasons; tilt is.
3. A 300 - day year calendar would be shorter, seasons would be about 15 - 16 days shorter, and the alignment of seasons with months would shift over time.