Geography [2 Mark Question Answer]

The earth revolves at an average speed of 100,000 km per hour. The earth revolves in an elliptical orbit with two particular positions i.e. perihelion 147.3 million km away from the sun in January and aphelion 152 million km away from the sun in July

Beyond the Arctic Circle, the regions experience 24 hours daylight in the summer season due to the North Pole facing continuously towards the pole. It is called the ‘Midnight Sun’. Norway is called the land of Midnight Sun.

The seasonal episodes are reciprocal with each other i.e. if Northern Hemisphere experiences summer season, then Southern Hemisphere has winter season; in the same way if . there is spring season in Northern Hemisphere, there is autumn season in Southern Hemisphere and vice-versa.

Equinox means the time when the days and nights are equal all over the world. The particular dates of equinoxes are 21st March (Spring or Vernal Equinox) and 23rd September (Autumnal Equinox).

Summer Solstice occurs on June 21, in the Northern Hemisphere, when the sun is overhead at the Tropic of Cancer and the North Pole is tilted towards the sun, so the summer season is experienced in the Northern Hemisphere.

Due to tilt in earth axis the Northern Hemisphere is directly exposed to Sun in July when the Sun rays strike directly. Further considering the enormous distance between sun and earth the difference between the maximum and the minimum distance is small, just 5 million km.

The northern part of Norway is beyond the Arctic Circle where the sunlight remains for she months from March to September, so it is called the Land of Midnight sun due to the sunlight seen at night, too.

On account of the oblique path of the sun towards poles than the vertical path along the equator, the length of dawn and twilight is greater, as it is nearly one hour near the equator and 50 days at the poles.

Tropical latitudes are the hottest part of the Earth because the belt between Tropic of cancer and Capricorn is the migration belt of the Sun in which the Sun remains overhead on one or another place which naturally receives the maximum heat of Sun.

On March 21 rays of the sun fall vertically on the equator, and because of the inclined axis of the earth, the circle of illumination passes through the two poles resulting in equal duration of day and night all over the world.

After March 21st the sun starts it’s apparent movement towards the North and Circle of illumination cuts the latitude of southern portion unequally so that the antarctic circle comes in complete darkness till June 21st, and the major portion of other latitude lies on darker side.

The earth rotates (turns) round its axis from west to east once in twenty-four hours. This motion is called the Daily Motion or Rotation. This rotation of the earth is the real cause of the apparent rising and setting of the sun which is stationary.

The winter solstice occurs once a year in each hemisphere: once in the Northern Hemisphere (in December) and once in the Southern Hemisphere (in June). It marks the start of each hemisphere's winter season.

The solstice is combining the Latin words sol for “Sun” and sistere for “To Stand Still”. Solstice is the point where the Sun appears to reach either its highest or lowest point in the sky for the year. The day of the solstice in either hemisphere has either the most sunlight of the year (summer solstice) or the least sunlight of the year (winter solstice)

The word Equinox comes from the Latin words aequi, which means "equal," and nox, which means "night."
Equinox is the time or date (twice each year) at which the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of approximately equal length (about 22 September and 20 March).

Japan
Japan is known as the “Land of Rising Sun”. It is called by this name because the sun rises first in Japan and then in any other part of the world. 

Due to the tilted axis of the earth, the Northern Hemisphere gets maximum sunlight from March to September and Southern Hemisphere from September to March. So, the seasons are also reversed e.g. the summer season in Northern Hemisphere corresponds by winter in Southern Hemisphere and the spring is exchanged with the Autumn season.

The sun is overhead on :
(a) Equator on 21st March and 23rd September.
(b) Tropic of Cancer on 21st June.
(c) Tropic of Capricorn on 22nd December.

The difference in the duration of days and nights all over the earth is on account of the inclined axis of the earth. There is six months day in North Pole in summer season (from April to September) and six months day in South Pole in winter season (from October to March)

The rotation causes day and night alternately; the part of the earth facing the sun experiences day and on the opposite side the dark part experiences night. One night and one day together make a complete solar day.

The rays of the sun fall vertical on the equator or the middle part of the earth, on March 21, So the distribution of light is equal all over the world resulting the duration of the day and night equal from pole to pole. It is called the Vernal Equinox

On account of the oblique path of the sun towards poles than the vertical path along the equator, the length of dawn and twilight is greater, as it is nearly one hour near the equator and 50 days at the poles.

Due to the tilted axis of the earth and the migration belt of the sun between the Tropics of Cancer and. Capricorn, the length of day and night differs from place to place and region to region.

The sun’s rays are vertical over the Tropic of Capricorn, So 25th December may be one of the hottest days in NewZealand, being situated in the Southern Hemisphere.

As every part of the earth takes a frill round within 24 hours, the equator being the largest circle of latitude 0°, the speed is greatest at the equator due to crossing the maximum distance per hour. i.e. it is 1660 km per hour, while it decreases to 0° at poles.

The northern part of Norway is beyond the Arctic Circle where the sunlight remains for she months from March to September, so it is called the Land of Midnight sun due to the sunlight seen at night, too.

During the Winter Solstice, the earth’s Southern pole is facing towards the sun, and the Northern Hemisphere experiences winter season and cold in spite of the earth’s nearest position to the sun.

As the earth moves from West to East, the eastern part gets lighted first and we see the sunrise in the East.