It is very common in basic Science and Astronomy classes students imagine that seasons occur due the varying Earth-Sun distance along a year. The most common teacher’s explanation against this conception is the fact that the seasons are opposite in south and north hemispheres. However, the inverse proof is rarely shown to both teachers and students, namely that the influence of the Earth-Sun distance variation in our planet temperature is much lower than actually observed. In this work, we present the relationship between Earth temperature and the distance from our planet to the Sun. Some other factors like Earth’s albedo and Sun radius and temperature were also discussed. Besides, we discuss some other aspects about this problem normally not presented in astronomy classes.
astronomy teaching; solar system; seasons of the year; earth climate; sun radiation
