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Why Do We Have Day and Night?

Earth spins like a top. When part of the Earth faces the Sun, it’s daytime there, and when that same part turns away, it becomes nighttime. Imagine spinning around with your friend holding a flashlight: you get light on one side and darkness on the other.

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Examples

  1. Imagine spinning around with your friend holding a flashlight, one side gets light while the other is in shadow.
  2. If you live on the east coast, your friend who lives on the west coast might be sleeping when you're having breakfast.
  3. When Earth turns away from the Sun, it's like being in a dark room after leaving a bright one.

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Categories: Science · Earth· Rotation· Day and Night· Orbital Mechanics · Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.