Earth 's eccentricity can also play a large role in Earth climate change. The role is perhaps not as large of an impact as Earth 's Obliquity, but still large nonetheless. Eccentricity is defined as the difference in shape between an ellipse and a perfect circle. It is also known by a simpler definition as simply being a measurement of how elliptical something is. In the case of climate, eccentricity is applied to the shape of Earth 's orbit. In a similar fashion to Earth 's obliquity, the more uniform Earth 's orbit is (more like a perfect circle), the less difference there is in climate change throughout the year. Unlike obliquity, eccentricity affects the entire planet approximately the same, instead of primarily changing polar climate. The base idea with eccentricity is this: "How far away is the earth as a whole from the sun? '' If there is no eccentricity to Earth 's orbit, then Earth will remain at the same distance from the sun throughout the year, therefore producing no climate change, seeing as how the Earth 's orbit would be perfectly circular around the sun. On the other hand, if Earth 's orbit has a very high eccentricity, Earth would be very close to the sun (compared to a perfectly circular orbit) during two opposite seasons, and very far away from the sun during the other two opposite seasons. This effect can be seen by analyzing any ellipse, and observing how flat or how skinny the ellipse becomes as its eccentricity increases.
how would seasons on earth be different if earth's orbit were less elliptical
less difference there is in climate change throughout the year