01
Orbit shape
Earth's orbit is drawn as a circle here. It's actually a very slight ellipse — Earth is closest to the Sun in January, during Northern winter, which is the opposite of what "distance causes seasons" would predict.
Earth · Question
Why do we have seasons?
Earth is actually a little closer to the Sun during Northern Hemisphere winter, not farther. Seasons come from Earth's tilt, not its distance. Drag through a full orbit below to see why.
Visual model
Earth's axis points the same way all year.
Northern hemisphere
Summer
MarJunSepDecMar
What's simplified
What this model leaves out.
02
23.5°, exaggerated
Earth's real axial tilt is 23.5° — this model exaggerates it somewhat so the effect is visible at this scale.
Misconception check
Quick check.
Quick check
Go deeper
Keep exploring.
Next in this series →
Moon phases ↗
Sun-Earth-Moon 3D orbital geometry.
Moon
Moon phases
Another everyday cycle that surprises people once you see the geometry.
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Solar system model
Back to the interactive 3D solar system.