About Aphelion:
- It is the point of the Earth’s orbit that is farthest away from the Sun.
- It always happens in early July, about two weeks after the June solstice.
- Why does it occur? Earth has an aphelion as a result of its orbit being elliptical, rather than circular.
- At aphelion, Earth’s distance from the Sun is about 152.1 million km.
- Six months later, in early January, Earth reaches perihelion — the point at which it is closest to the Sun. At perihelion, the distance between Earth and the Sun is roughly 147.1 million km.
Does aphelion affect temperatures on Earth?
- We get 7% lesssunlight at aphelion compared to what we are exposed to at perihelion, leading to slightly milder summers and winters in the Northern Hemisphere.
- But this effect is offset by Earth’s tilt on its axis — at different points along its orbit the hemispheres slant either toward or away from the Sun.
Q1: What is perihelion?
The term “perihelion” refers to the point in the orbit of a planet or other astronomical body, at which it is closest to the sun. The word comes from Greek and literally means around (peri) the sun (helios).
Source: What is Aphelion?
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