This seasonal astronomy diagram depicts a year's division marked by changes in weather, ecology, and amount of daylight. The Earth's orbit causes seasons on Earth around the Sun and its axial tilt relative to the ecliptic plane. Seasons are marked in temperate and polar regions by changes in the intensity of sunlight that reaches the Earth's surface. Variations cause animals to hibernate or migrate and plants to go dormant. The Northern Hemisphere is exposed to higher direct sunlight during May, June, and July because the hemisphere faces the Sun, as shown in this astronomy diagram of the seasons. In the Southern Hemisphere, the same is true in November, December, and January.
