 Why did the aliens decide to land during wintertime?
SECOND LANDING By FLOYD WALLACE A gentle fancy for the Christmas Season—an oft-told tale with a wistful twistful of Something that left the Earth with a wing and a prayer. Earth was so far away that it wasn't visible. But this vast distance did not mean that isolation could endure forever. Instruments within the ship intercepted radio broadcasts and, within the hour, early TV signals. Machines compiled dictionaries and grammars and began translating the major languages. The history of the planet was tabulated as facts became available. The course of the ship changed slightly; it was not much out of the way to swing nearer Earth. For days the two within the ship listened and watched with little comment. "We've got to make or break," said the first alien. "You know what I'm in favor of," said the second. "I can guess," said Ethaniel, who had spoken first. They've never done anything except fight each other—and invent better weapons." "It's not what they've done," said Bal, the second alien. "The more reason for stopping," said Ethaniel. "The big bomb can destroy them. "I may remind you that in two months twenty-nine days we're due in Willafours," said Bal. "Without looking at the charts I can tell you we still have more than a hundred light-years to go." "A week," said Ethaniel. "A week?" said Bal. "To settle their problems? They've had two world wars in one generation and that the third and final one is coming up you can't help feeling in everything they do." "It won't take much," said Ethaniel. "The wrong diplomatic move, or a trigger-happy soldier could set it off. A meteor shower could pass over and their clumsy instruments could interpret it as an all-out enemy attack." "We'll just have to forget there ever was such a planet as Earth." "My memory isn't convenient," said Ethaniel. "A bit shorter perhaps, and most certainly incomplete. Except for the one thing they lack, and that's quite odd, they seem exactly like us. "It is. They actually seem defenseless, though I suppose they're not." "There is. "In a week we can't negate their entire history. We can't begin to undo the effect of the big bomb." "You can't tell," said Ethaniel.
 They had to land now, and went where they could identify the best people to talk to.
 They did not have enough gas to circle back in the summer time.  They preferred the cold in the northern hemisphere to the heat of the southern hemisphere.  They had to land now, and went where they could identify the best people to talk to.  Their clothing fit in better in colder climates.