the common understanding is that Earth’s tilt dominates seasons. That said, my research makes an argument for Earth’s orbital eccentricity being underappreciated in determining our seasons.

An animation showcases how the seasons change with Earth's orbit around the sun. Earth's axis tilt causes very specific weather patterns and daylight during the course of a year. Most places ...

The Earth's 23.5-degree tilt is the reason for our seasons as the Earth orbits the sun.

So, the seasons occur because the Earth's axis is ... It goes around once every, roughly 24 hours. The time taken for Earth to orbit the Sun is actually closer to 365.25 days.

But then retreats beyond the orbit of Venus to "cool down ... seasonal variation on the planet's climate is negligible; Earth's seasons are dictated by the tilt of Earth's axis toward the ...

Simulations show that the stars’ tug could send Mercury, Venus or Mars crashing into Earth — or let Jupiter eject our world from the solar system.

"The Earth has its four seasons because of the spin axis tilt ... The shape of a planet's orbit can also influence seasonal variations in weather. This is because planets' orbits tend to be ...

So, leap years help us keep our calendars aligned with Earth's orbit around the sun. Without them, our calendar would slowly drift out of sync with the seasons. Overall, the farther you are from ...

But if something made Earth’s orbit grow more eccentric, the consequences could be catastrophic. Seasons in the Southern Hemisphere would become too extreme — summers would be unbearably hot ...

Related stories But this moment doesn't last, since the Earth makes its way around the sun at a speed of roughly 66,600 mph. Uneven seasons Our planet's orbit around the sun isn't a perfect circle.

Below, view how the seasons change with Earth's orbit around the sun: Eleanor Lutz, an award-winning graphics designer who has worked for The New York Times and the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant ...