Glossary

Summer

summer solstice-Longest day of the year; when the most minutes of daylight occurs. It marks the beginning of summer.

sun's rays- ultraviolet rays of sun light

elapsed- passed, already happened

Northern hemisphere-The half of the Earth north of the equator.

Southern hemisphere- The half of the Earth south of the equator

Spring

Vernal equinox-the time at which the sun crosses the plane of the equator towards the relevant hemisphere, making day and night of equal length

equator-the imaginary great circle around the earth's surface, equidistant from the poles and perpendicular to the earth's axis of rotation. It divides the earth into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.

rain-water condensed from atmospheric vapor and falling from clouds in drops

hail-something that falls with the force and quantity of a shower of ice and hard snow

thunder-the crashing or booming sound produced by rapidly expanding air along the path of the electrical discharge of lightning.

thunderstorm-a storm of heavy rain accompanied by lightning, thunder, wind, and sometimes hail

Winter

Winter solstice- the time at which the sun is at its southernmost point in the sky appearing at noon at its lowest altitude above the horizon usually on December 22

snow-frozen precipitation in the form of white or translucent hexagonal ice crystals that fall in soft, white flakes

sleet-precipitation that falls to earth in the form of frozen or partially frozen raindrops, often when the temperature is near the freezing point

freezing rain- precipitation that begins as snow at higher altitude, falling from a cloud towards earth, melts completely on its way down while passing through a layer of air above freezing temperature, and then encounters a layer below freezing at lower level to become super cooled

precipitation-product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that is deposited on the earth's surface. It occurs when the atmosphere becomes saturated with water vapour and the water condenses and falls out of solution

North Pole-the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets the Earth's surface It is the northernmost point on Earth, lying diametrically opposite the South Pole. It defines latitude 90°.

Fall

cardinal direction- are north, south, east, and west and refer to the geographical orientation on earth.

autumnal equinox-the Sun is positioned directly over the Earth's equator and, by extension, the apparent position of the Sun at that moment, or the time that it happens.

chlorophyll-a green pigment found in most plants, that absorbs light most strongly in the blue and red but poorly in the green portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, giving it a green color

autumn- another word for the season of fall

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