What is the time at which Earth's poles point at their greatest angle away from or toward the Sun?

Answer 1

Neither. The northern hemisphere experiences its Summer solstice when the north pole points most toward the Sun and its Winter solstice when the south pole points most toward the Sun. Equinoxes come on the days exactly in the middle of the solstices so both poles are the same distance from the Sun.

Answer 2

The Earth's poles reach their greatest angle away or toward the Sun during the solstices. The summer solstice occurs around June 21 when the North Pole points at its greatest angle toward the Sun, and the winter solstice occurs around December 21 when the North Pole points at its greatest angle away from the Sun.

Answer 3

The declination of the sun on the winter solstice has the same magnitude as the Earth's tilt, 23.27 degrees. The sign will be different depending on whether you mean winter in the northern hemisphere (negative) or in the Southern Hemisphere (positive).

Answer 4

The format of the question makes it sound like the Earth is tilting back and forth. It is not. The Earth is quite stable, spinning like a gyroscope, and the "precession", or variation, goes through one cycle every 26,000 years or so.

However, the Earth's axis is "tilted" with respect to the ecliptic, the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. This angle, of about 23.5 degrees, doesn't change.

The north pole of the Earth is "farthest away" from the Sun on December 21, and closest to the Sun on June 21. (These dates may vary one day either way, depending on the cycle of leap years.)

Answer 5

The northern hemisphere is most tilted away from the sun within a day either way of December 22.

The southern hemisphere is most tilted away from the sun within a day either way of June 21.

Answer 6

23.5 degrees, on the first day of winter for the northernhemisphere.

23.5 degrees north of the celestial equator, on the first day of winter for the southern hemisphere.

Answer 7

The events are called the solstices (summer solstice and winter solstice). They occur on June 20/21 and December 21/22 each year. The June solstice is the summer solstice for the northern hemisphere and the winter solstice for the southern hemisphere.

At the June solstice, when the North Pole is at its greatest angle toward to the Sun, the Sun appears to circle directly over the Tropic of Cancer (about 23.5°N latitude). Any locations south of the Antarctic Circle (about 66.5°S latitude) will experience a day without any sun at all. (It is below the horizon for them.)

The reverse occurs at the December solstice (start of winter in the northern hemisphere) when the Sun appear to circle the Earth directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, and areas north of the Arctic Circle receive no sun for one or more days.

Answer 8

If you're in the northern Hemisphere, then the South Pole is inclined

toward the Sun at the winter solstice (~December 21)

If you're in the southern Hemisphere, then the North Pole is inclined

toward the sun when it is the coldest season. (the solstice is around June 21)

Answer 9

Answer It is analogous to latitude on the Earth, but projected onto the sky. It is measured as degrees north of south of the celestial equator. "Declinations are measurements in relation to the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (Latitudes=Declinations) and how the planets appear to transit through the Northern and Southern Declinations."

Answer 10

The declination of the Sun changes moment to moment through the year, from 23.4 degrees north to 23.4 degrees south (approximately).

You can look up the declination of the Sun for any hour throughout the year from theOnline Nautical Almanac at the link below.

As of this moment, June 31, 2014 at 10:13 PM Pacific Daylight Time, the Sun is at declination 22 degrees, 02.5 minutes North.