[cpgtdzpa] Seasons at the equator

Summer is relatively hot. Winter is relatively cold. Spring and autumn are the times in between. Thus, our seasons are roughly centered around local extrema and points of inflection in temperature.

Then, by this definition, and if temperature is purely the effect of the angle of the sun (this assumption is wrong), the equator will have 8 seasons, not 4 like above and below the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and not just 1 as popularly believed.

The equatorial region is coldest when the Sun is extremely north or south. This happens twice a year at the solstices. It is warmest when the Sun is directly overhead. This happens twice a year at the equinoxes. So far we have 4 seasons already: 2 winters and 2 summers. There are points of inflection between them (2 springs and 2 autumns) for a total of 8 seasons.

Exactly at the equator, both winters are equal in coldness, but away from the equator, one winter is milder and shorter than the other, although they are both local minima in temperature. Very close to the Tropics of Cancer or Capricorn, it is difficult to distinguish this very short winter from the summers which bracket it.

This model of seasonal temperature sole as a function of the angle of the Sun is known to be incorrect. Perhaps if all the water disappeared, or the tilt of the planet's axis were much more severe like Uranus.