Since were in the middle of a heat wave, it seems like an appropriate time to ask this question. Why is it hot in the summer and cold in the winter?

If youre at a loss for an answer, dont worry, youre not alone.

Riverside Military Academy instructor James Myers says that point was made abundantly clear in a video, "Our Private Universe," that he incorporated into a NASA-funded workshop for educators that he recently facilitated at the University of Georgia.

"It begins by asking a group of Harvard University graduates a few simple science questions that are covered in middle school science and throughout the high school science curriculum," Myers said.

"One of the questions is What causes the seasons. Nearly all (participants) related the cause to the Earths varying distance from the sun rather than the tilt of the Earths axis.

"The point is that many well-educated people do not understand some of the basic facts of science."

One of the reasons why so many people know so little about astronomy is because its largely absent from public education. That is a travesty some say.

"Astronomy can be taught at an elementary level. My 5-year-old granddaughter told me about studying constellations in her pre-school," Myers said.

"Astronomy can also be taught at an advanced level with rigorous mathematics. A friend of mine who directs a planetarium in Kentucky said that all pre-schoolers are very interested in dinosaurs and astronomy.

"An interest in astronomy is native to most all people. A trained teacher can then use that interest in astronomy to teach lots of physics for sure, but also chemistry, history and biology."

Read this article:

State’s astronomy educational workshops help launch students’ interest in science and beyond