Since the equator is closest to the sun, would it have more daylight hours compared to, say, the Tropic of Cancer?
I am using an example, however, would it be true if the farther one is from the equator, the less daylight hours?
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1$\begingroup$ Hey @Bibliophile, you are asking good questions, but you are asking if true or not without any arguments for or against, or why it would be either true or not. You should edit your question showing why you think your understanding tend toward one or another answer $\endgroup$– marsisalieCommented Nov 11, 2016 at 20:21
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1$\begingroup$ The length of day on the equator as opposed to either the Tropic of Cancer or Capricorn has nothing to do with the equator being closer to the sun. I suggest you Google "Cause of Seasons." $\endgroup$– BillDOeCommented Nov 11, 2016 at 20:53
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1$\begingroup$ Possible duplicate of astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/3625/… $\endgroup$– SpencerCommented Nov 12, 2016 at 13:28
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2 Answers
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The Earth's equator is about 0.006% closer to the sun than the Earth's mean spin axis, so the effect of proximity to the sun on daylight hours is so small that my calculator - which has a register of 10 significant figures - can't even discern any difference. A rough back of an envelope hand calculation indicates less than a millionth of a second difference in daylight hours between equator and the Earth's mean spin axis. So the effect on the weather would be indeterminate, and vastly less than caused by orbital variations, solar storms, fluctuations in solar luminosity, seasonal cloud variation, etc.
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No.
There is a difference in daylight according to latitude, but it is not because of proximity to the sun, and nor is there a significant difference in the total number of daylight hours in a year.
What is different is that at the equator, the length of the day is nearly equal all year round. The higher your latitude (the further from the equator and the nearer to the poles) the more difference there is in the length of the day between summer and winter - with the extreme at the poles of six months of light or darkness.
answered Nov 13, 2016 at 23:48