An orbit is a path that one object in space takes around another object. An object that regularly moves in orbit is called a satellite. Satellites can be man-made or natural. Natural satellites are, for example, Earth and Jupiter. Man-made satellites are, for example, the International Space Station. Planets, comets, asteroids, and other objects in the solar system orbit around the sun. Most of the satellites are orbiting on an imaginary flat surface, which is called the ecliptic plane. Orbits are usually elliptical (ellipse)-shaped, which means that they are oval-shaped.
Satellites that orbit around another object don’t always stay the same distance from their satellite. When planets are closer to the sun, it is called perihelion. When they are at their farthest point, it is called the aphelion. When the Northern Hemisphere is closest to the sun, we have summer. The time it takes for a satellite to be in full orbit is called the period. The satellites stay in their orbit because of the motion. This is also called Newton’s first law of motion.

Earth’s orbit is also known as Earth’s revolution. Earth is orbiting around the sun. The average orbit distance is 149.60 million km, and Earth is doing it in a counter-clockwise direction, as seen from above the Northern Hemisphere. The period around the sun takes 365,256 days. Earth has an axial tilt, and because of that, the sun’s trajectory in the sky varies during the year. The Earth oscillates on its axis like a slow-moving spinning top. This is called “precession” and is the result of the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun on the Earth. This implies that the North Pole changes where it points in the sky. The Earth’s axis is currently pointing towards the North Star, but over a period of thousands of years, the axis will move in a circular pattern and point to various places in the sky. This has an effect on the seasonal differences between the hemispheres and the timing of the seasons.

Climate can also change because of the changes in Earth’s orbit, axial, and precession. These changes are also called “Milankovitch cycles”. The three cycles together affect the amount of solar heat arriving at the Earth’s surface, which then impacts climate patterns, including ice ages. The period of time between these changes can be tens of thousands of years (precession and axis tilt) or more than hundreds of thousands of years (eccentricity).
Milankovitch integrated the cycles to create a comprehensive mathematical model to predict the differences in solar irradiance at different latitudes of the Earth, together with the related surface temperatures. The model is a climate time machine. It can be run backwards and forwards to study past and future climate conditions. Milankovitch believed that obliquity is the most important factor according to climate because it influences the amount of solar radiation at the Earth’s northern high latitudes during the summer. With the climate time machine, he calculated that the Ice Ages occur approximately every 41 000 years. The cycle of the Ice Ages has been lengthened to 100,000 years now.

The changes in Earth’s orbit have triggered global warming in the past as well, around 56 million years ago, and it is considered an analogue for today’s climate change. Scientists think that an orbital trigger may have resulted in the release of carbon that caused global warming of several degrees Celsius during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.

In conclusion, Earth’s orbital changes affect how much sunlight reaches the Earth and its geographic distribution and thus influence climate.

Sources:
https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-kids-and-students/what-is-an-orbit-grades-5-8/
https://www.britannica.com/science/satellite
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_orbit
https://www.bgs.ac.uk/discovering-geology/climate-change/what-causes-the-earths-climate-to-change/
https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2948/milankovitch-orbital-cycles-and-their-role-in-earths-climate/
https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/changes-earths-orbit-may-have-triggered-ancient-warming-event/