Montiest Barney (910703366)
AST 191 Activity #2
A) Exploring the Seasons
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“What causes the seasons on the Earth. Why is it sometimes winter and other times Summer?”
Answer: C(The Earth’s axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane. This changes the elevation of the
Sun above the horizon throughout the year. At high elevation the energy per unit area is
greater than at low elevation. At high elevation we get summer.)
Conjecture A.
It is true that the Earth’s elliptical orbit causes it to sometimes get closer and further to the Sun rather
than orbiting in a exact sphere pathway also Earth’s rotation axis is tilted 23.5degrees in regards to its
orbital plane. Therefore, when in orbit as stated in observable 6 the light emitted from the Sun will
generate different temperatures throughout the atmosphere accordingly if the rays of light strike the
surface directly or indirectly. For example when these rays of light strike directly on the Northern
Hemisphere it will be summer whereas the Southern Hemisphere will be winter.
Conjecture B.
In conjecture B it is not the fact that earth’s rotational axis is tilted that causes it to be any closer or
further from the sun but does affect the way in which light emitted from the Sun reaches the Earth
either directly or indirectly: because the Earth stays on the same orbital pathway throughout its course
however, this does contribute to the different Season(s) in which we experience here on earth
throughout the year.
Conjecture C.
Yes it is true that the Earth’s axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane. The fact that the Sun elevates
throughout the year affects how the Sun’s light is emitted in relation to the Earth. “The Sun’s elevation
changes by 47o throughout the year, with the highest elevation on June 21 for Northern Hemisphere.”
In addition referring back to observable 6 it states that light hitting the surface at different angles,
directly or indirectly affects the amount of energy in a certain amount of surface area. As you know
energy generates heat so depending on which hemisphere and if the light is hitting the surface directly
or indirectly will cause the temperature to vary throughout the world due in part to the Earth’s
rotational axis’s tilt of 23.5 degrees.
Conjecture D.
A and B are related in terms of seasons on earth. The elliptical orbit that the Earth makes causes it to get
closer in and out throughout the year causing it to get either closer or further away to or from the Sun
and the fact that its tilted causes the light emitted by the Sun to touch the Earth’s surface either directly
or indirectly changing the Seasons. For example when the Sun’s light hit the Northern hemisphere of the
Earth it causes it to be summer whereas the Southern whom that is not receiving direct sunlight will be
in winter. B and C are true to each other because B talks about how the Earth’s axis is tilted causing the
Sun’s light to either touch the Northern or summer hemisphere however, conjecture C gets a little more
descriptive when it states how the Sun elevates creating the image of its light hitting the Earth in
different angles causing temperate and climate variation along the surface. A and C are also fond of each
other because yes the Earth’s elliptical orbit causes it to get closer and further away from the Sun
throughout the year and C is describing the Earth as it is making this elliptical orbit to let you know while
the Earth is tilted its rotational axis is tilted and in coherence with Sun’s elevation will cause different
temperatures and climates according to the direction of the light emitted from the Sun in regards to the
Earth’s atmosphere. Conjecture A, B and C are all made true when looking at the observables because A
adds the fact that the Earth travels in an elliptical path therefore, getting closer and further away from
the Sun throughout the year. B adds that the Earth’s rotational axis is tilted and will cause either the
Northern or Southern hemisphere to be closer to the Sun sometime during the Earth’s “elliptical orbit.”
And conjecture C suggest that the Sun elevation is also a cause in the Earth’s seasonal changes which as
an observable we know to be true. So when we compare all three of these conjectures with the
observables it helps to better understand why WE on Earth undergo different temperatures and
climates.
Phases of the Moon
Why does the Moon have different phrases?
Answer: A
Conjecture A: This conjecture provides a good scenario of how a crescent moon is formed. It all depends
on where the moon is in relation to the sun and earth that depicts which phrase the moon will appear to
be in.
Conjecture B: This conjecture isn’t too good on describing how a crescent moon is really formed.