Answer to Question #142270 in General Chemistry for Javier

Question

Why do the north and south poles have 6 months of winter (darkness) and 6 months of sunshine, rather than regular seasons?

Answer 1

Antarctica has six months of daylight in its summer and six months of darkness in its winter. The seasons are caused by the tilt of Earth's axis in relation to the sun. The direction of the tilt never changes. But as the Earth orbits the sun, different parts of the planet are exposed to direct sunlight.