Why do winter lows get far more than summer highs in close distance at close elevation?

[Anonymous]

Why do winter lows get far more than summer highs in close distance at close elevation?

[laly520]

The Earth tilts on its axis. This changes the angle of the sun between summer and winter. The net result is a 47 degree deference in the Angle of the sun. For example for New York City: In the winter, the sun reaches it's highest point in the sky about 25 degrees above the horizon while in the summer it's highest point is about 72 degrees above the horizon. When the sun is at a high angle, its energy is more focused on a specific area so a lot more energy is absorbed heating up the atmosphere. When the sun is at a low angle there is a lot less energy absorbed so the atmosphere does not heat up as much. The tilt also effects how many hours of daylight. Going back to our New York example. In the Winter, New York gets a little over 9 hours of daylight while in the summer it's closer to 15 hours. The net result is more energy is absorbed to heat up the atmosphere.

For the Northern Hemisphere the sun reaches its highest angle in December while in the Southern Hemisphere it's in June. That's why the seasons are 6 months apart

[KrakenAttackin]

@laly520. Yes, well said. I believe the term is "albado"? For the reflectivity of the northern hemisphere.

[laly520]

@KrakenAttackin yes
albedo

[KrakenAttackin]

Thanks for spelling correction, it's been a few years.

[slatyb]

@KrakenAttackin that's not the word you are looking for. "Albedo" is the fraction of incident light that is reflected. It is usually us3d to describe non-radiant cities in space. IIRC the albedo of the moon is 7%.

I think the term you are wanting is insolation.

[KrakenAttackin]

@slatyb Better still.

[slatyb]

Non-radiant objects..

[slatyb]

What?

[Asker]

Difference between winter lows and Difference between summer highs.

[slatyb]

Temperature variation is greatest in the interior of continents. Near the shore temperature variation is minimized because the ocean temperature changes slowly compared to air temperatures.

[Asker]

Highs differ less

[Asker]

Im summer

[Asker]

In summer

[Anonymous]

What?