What defines each season? Below is a brief explanation of the four seasons in order of calendar year. In other words, it takes Earth less time to go from the autumnal equinox to the vernal equinox than it does to go from the vernal equinox to the autumnal equinox.ĭue to all this, the seasons range in length from about 89 days to about 94 days. (The opposite is true in the Southern Hemisphere.) When Earth is closer to the Sun, the star’s gravitational pull is slightly stronger, causing our planet to travel just a bit faster in its orbit. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, this results in a shorter fall and winter, since we are moving faster through space during that time of the year. Conversely, when Earth is farthest from the Sun, it travels more slowly, resulting in a longer spring and summer. In January, we reach the point in our orbit nearest to the Sun (called perihelion), and in July, we reach the farthest point ( aphelion). Thanks to the elliptical shape of Earth’s orbit around the Sun, Earth doesn’t stay the same distance from the Sun year-round. It can sometimes feel like winter is dragging on forever, but did you know that its actually the shortest season of the year? (In the Northern Hemisphere, that is.) Therefore, the dates of the equinoxes and solstices can shift by a day or two over time, which causes the start dates of the seasons to shift over time, too. While our Gregorian calendar was designed to match the time it takes for the Earth to complete one orbit around the Sun, it’s not exact. Specifically, it eliminates leap days in century years not evenly divisible by 400, such 1700, 1800, and 2100, and millennium years that are divisible by 4,000, such as 8000 and 12000. There are several astronomical reasons but the one that’s easy to understand is: The Sun doesn’t follow a human calendar!
You may have noticed that the first day of spring used to be a different date when you were younger than it is today. Photo Credit: NASA Why Has Date Changed for Start of Seasons? As the Earth progresses through its orbit during the year, the tilt causes different parts of the Earth to be exposed to more or less sunlight, depending on whether we are tilted towards or away from the Sun. Temperate regions of Earth experience four seasons because of shifting sunlight, which is determined by how the Earth orbits the Sun and the tilt of our planet’s axis. The Old Farmer’s Almanac is an astronomical “calendar of the heavens,” so our book has long followed the astronomical definition of the seasons based on the Sun and Earth! According to this definition, each season begins on the first of a particular month and lasts for three months: Spring begins on March 1, summer on June 1, autumn on September 1, and winter on December 1. Climate scientists and meteorologists created this definition to make it easier to keep records of the weather, since the start of each meteorological season doesn’t change from year to year. In contrast, the meteorological start of a season is based on the annual temperature cycle and the 12-month calendar.A solstice is when the Sun reaches the most southerly or northerly point in the sky, while an equinox is when the Sun passes over Earth’s equator. Because of leap years, the dates of the equinoxes and solstices can shift by a day or two over time, causing the start dates of the seasons to shift, too. More specifically, the start of each season is marked by either a solstice (for winter and summer) or an equinox (for spring and autumn).
The astronomical start of a season is based on the position of the Earth in relation to the Sun.Here is more explanation about how astronomers and meteorologists define seasons differently: Subtract 3 hours for Pacific time, 2 hours for Mountain time, 1 hour for Central time, and so on. Note: The dates above correspond to the start of the listed seasons in the Northern Hemisphere. The First Days of the Seasons Seasons of 2022 The meteorological start date is based on our 12-month civiil calendar as well as the annual temperature cycle.The astronomical start date is based on the position of the Sun in relation to the Earth.It sounds complicated, but trust us, it’s not! Each season has both an astronomical start and a meteorological start.