Seasons on Jupiter and Uranus: Discussion

In a nutshell:

On Jupiter, the angle between incoming sunlight and the planet's axis of rotation is always about 90°. Consequently, Jupiter has no seasons!
On Uranus, the angle between incoming sunlight and the planet's axis of rotation changes from 0° to 180° and back over the course of the planet's (84 yr!) orbit about the Sun. Consequently, Uranus has extreme seasons!

This picture may make things clear -- `at least, clearer than they were before' (Douglas Adams).

Question 2D.1

When does most of Uranus experience a normal (17.25 hr) day/night cycle? (Hint: there's more than one correct answer!)

When does almost half of Uranus experience a `midnight sun'? (Hint: there's more than one correct answer!)

Last modified: September 5, 2006
http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~barnes/ast110_06/quizzes/disc02.html