Summer in July, Summer in January

When Ohio is shoveling snow, Sydney is at the beach. Half of the world is always having the opposite season from the other half.

It is tempting to think summer happens when we are closest to the Sun. In fact, Earth is closest to the Sun in early January, in the middle of northern winter.

It is all in the lean

Earth’s axis tilts about 23.4 degrees. In June, the northern half leans toward the Sun, so it gets higher sunshine and longer days. In December, the southern half gets its turn.

The extreme version

At the poles, that tilt becomes a single enormous day. Above the Arctic Circle in June, the Sun stays up around the clock. At the exact pole, it rises once and sets once a year. So each pole gets about six months of daylight, followed by about six months of night, with long twilights in between.

The polar night and midnight sun are the same event seen from opposite ends, and they swap every six months. We put it on a tee, of course.