The Earth is closest to the Sun, at its perihelion, about two weeks after the December solstice and farthest from the Sun, or at its aphelion, about two weeks after the June solstice. Show
 Earth is farthest from the Sun when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere. ©timeanddate.com Changing Elliptical OrbitThe Earth orbits the Sun in an elliptical path, which means that there is one point on the path closest to the Sun and one point that is farthest away from the Sun. Orbit Changes ShapeThis path's shape varies due to the gravitational influences of other planetary objects, particularly the Moon. Approximately every 100,000 years, the Earth's orbital path changes from being nearly circular to elliptical. The difference of the Earth’s orbital shape from a perfect circle is known as its eccentricity. An eccentricity value of 0 is a circular orbit, while values between 0 and 1 describe an elliptical orbit. Perihelion in
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia is on Distance from the Sun's center to Earth's center will be 147,098,925 km (91,403,034 mi)
Earth's Perihelion and AphelionThe Earth is closest to the Sun, or at the perihelion, about two weeks after the December solstice, when it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Conversely, the Earth is farthest away from the Sun, at the aphelion point, two weeks after the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is enjoying warm summer months. Astronomical terms & definitions Is the Timing a Coincidence?Due to variations in the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit, the dates when the Earth reaches its perihelion or aphelion are not fixed. In 1246, the December Solstice was on the same day as the Earth reached its perihelion. Since then, the perihelion and aphelion dates have drifted by a day every 58 years. In the short-term, the dates can vary up to two days from one year to another. Mathematicians and astronomers estimate that in 6430, over 4000 years from now, the perihelion will coincide with the March equinox. What causes seasons? Perigee and ApogeeThe Moon's path around the Earth is also elliptical. The point in the Moon's orbit that is closest to the Earth is called the perigee and the point farthest from the Earth is known as the apogee. The terms are also sometimes used interchangeably with the Earth's perihelion and aphelion. Did You Know......that the words perihelion and aphelion come from ancient Greek, where peri means close, apo means far, and helios means the Sun? They are used in astronomy to refer to the closest and farthest points of the orbits of any object revolving around the Sun. Together, they are called apsides—the points of least or greatest distance of a celestial object in orbit around another astronomical body. Topics: Astronomy, Solstice, Sun, Equinox Earth farthest from the sunPlanet Earth reached aphelion – our most distant point from the sun – at 7 UTC on July 4, 2022. That’s 2 a.m. Central Daylight Time in North America. It’s been a hot summer already in parts of the Northern Hemisphere. And Earth’s aphelion always comes in July, in the midst of Northern Hemisphere summer (and Southern Hemisphere winter). So you know our distance from the sun doesn’t cause Earth’s seasons. Looking for Earth’s exact distance from the sun at 2022’s aphelion? It’s 94,509,598 miles (152,098,455 km). The fact is, Earth’s orbit is almost, but not quite, circular. So our distance from the sun doesn’t change much percentagewise (a little over 3%). Today, we’re about 3 million miles (5 million km) farther from the sun than we will be six months from now. And it’s in contrast to our average distance from the sun of about 93 million miles (150 million km). By the way, the word aphelion comes from the Greek words apo meaning away, off, apart and helios, for the Greek god of the sun. Apart from the sun. That’s us, around now. What causes the seasons?The seasons aren’t due to Earth’s changing distance from the sun. We’re always farthest from the sun in early July during northern summer and closest in January during northern winter. Instead, the seasons result from Earth’s tilt on its axis. Right now, it’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere because the northern part of Earth is tilted most toward the sun. We’re receiving the sun’s rays most directly Meanwhile, it’s winter in the Southern Hemisphere because the southern part of Earth is tilted most away from the sun. The more indirect sunlight causes cooler temperatures. Read more: Why Earth has 4 seasons Earth’s varying distance from the sun does affect the length of the seasons, though. That’s because, at our farthest from the sun, like now, Earth is traveling most slowly in its orbit. That makes summer the longest season in the Northern Hemisphere and winter the longest season on the southern half of the globe. Conversely, winter is the shortest season in the Northern Hemisphere, and summer is the shortest in the Southern Hemisphere, in each instance by nearly five days. Earth at perihelion and aphelion 2001 to 2100 Closest and farthest points tied to solstices?The short answer is no. It’s true that Earth is farthest from the sun every year in early July, about two weeks after the June solstice. And it’s true that Earth is closest to the sun every early January, about two weeks after the December solstice. Is it a coincidence? Yes, it is. Over the long course of time, the dates of Earth’s closest and farthest points to the sun shift with respect to the solstices. According to timeanddate.com:
Visual size difference when Earth farthest from sunBottom line: Planet Earth reaches its most distant point from the sun for 2022 on July 4. Astronomers call this yearly point in Earth’s orbit our aphelion. EarthSky astronomy kits are perfect for beginners. Order yours today. Why isn’t the hottest weather on the year’s longest day? Deborah ByrdView Articles About the Author: Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says. Why is the Earth farthest from the sun?EARTH'S UNIQUE ORBIT
The unique orbit leads to Earth either at the farthest point in its revolution around the Sun, or the closest. The unique path is due to the gravitational influences of other planetary objects, especially the Moon.
Is Earth moving farther away from the sun 2022?Aphelion 2022: Earth will be farthest from the sun on the Fourth of July. At aphelion, Earth will be 94.51 million miles (152.1 million kilometers) away from the sun.
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Earths orbit farthest from the Sun
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