A Private Universe

What is the reason for the seasons?

I think that the reason for the seasons is the rotation of the earth on its axis and the way it orbits around the sun. It is always warm at the equator because it is always facing the sun. When the northern hemisphere is facing the sun it is summer, then the southern hemisphere is having winter. In the video, I found out that the tilt of the earth on its axis is causing direct and indirect sunlight. When the sunlight is direct (90 degrees), it is summer and when it is indirect (at an angle), it is winter. 

What causes the phases of the moon?

I think that the suns reflection on the moon causes the different phases. When the moon is in front of the sun it is a full moon. When an eclipse occurs, the earth is blocking the sunlight to the moon. In the model that we did in class, the cheap version was much more effective than the expensive one. The class was "the earth" and we could clearly see that the moon changes phases based on where it is in relativity to the sun. The expensive model was hard to see what was going on when we all were sitting in our seats. 


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