The seasons are formed by the tilt of the Earth. The Earth’s axis, the imaginary line passing through the north and south poles around which the Earth revolves, is not vertical. In fact, it was tilted by 23.5 degrees.
During the Earth’s journey around the Sun representing a year, this axis always points in the same direction. That’s why in a year, different areas of the Earth will face the Sun.
Scientists think this axis was tilted when Theia, a large object about the size of Mars, crashed into Earth shortly after the birth of the blue planet.
This is the big collision hypothesis and is also considered to be an explanation for the formation of the Moon. So what if our planet only had one season?
During the “year without a summer”, many crops die from frost and lack of sunlight. (Illustration).
Instead of following a cycle of hot and cold weather, the average temperature will be fixed. This greatly affects animals and plants, which in turn has a strong impact on humans.
In fact, we experienced a similar situation more than 200 years ago, due to a volcanic eruption.
When a volcano erupts, it sends dust, ash, and sulfur into the atmosphere. They can block sunlight, causing the planet to cool down. These effects can last for months to years.
The largest volcanic eruption occurred in 1815, Mount Tambora, Indonesia, spewing so much ash into the air that it darkened the sky and affected the climate for months. In fact, this event caused the summer of 1816 in New England and Europe to be filled with frost, snow, and ice storms for months. Later, people called 1816 “the year without a summer”.
Is endless winter really that bad? Then you will be able to ski, use a sled or drink hot chocolate. However, there is some bad news for foodies.
Some important crops such as wheat, many vegetables and fruit trees need a cold period to stimulate growth but will not germinate until the weather warms up. Without spring and summer, it is almost impossible for us to grow crops, grains or other similar crops.
During the “year without summer” , many crops die from frost and lack of sunlight, leading to poverty as food prices skyrocket. Cold weather also kills many animals from sheep to birds.
If there is no spring, it is also difficult for animals to reproduce. Most animals time their mating to give birth in warmer weather. Then food will be abundant.
In short, being hit by the large planet Theia is a good thing for Earth. If the Earth were not tilted and there were no 4 seasons, life would be very difficult.