The aphelion, an annual event, marks the point at which Earth will be the farthest from the sun. If you’re wondering why our planet experiences such high temperatures while being so distant from the sun, you should know that the Earth’s position in its orbit around the sun has no bearing on the temperature.
Every year in July, aphelion takes place; this year, it falls on Friday, July 5 at 10:36 am IST. Earth orbits the sun in an elliptical pattern, which means that it makes one annual trip to its closest point and one annual trip to its furthest point. Perihelion is the position that is closest to the sun, and perihelion is the position that is furthest from the sun is called aphelion.
The distance between Earth and the sun is 91.5 million miles at its closest point and 94.5 million miles at its farthest point. Although it may seem like a lot to us, it is little in comparison to the size of the solar system.
The axial tilt of the Earth and its distance from the sun determine its weather. Because of Earth’s 23.5-degree axial tilt, the sun shines at varying latitudes and angles throughout the year. Summertime days are longer and hotter because the planet’s northern half is tilted towards the sun at aphelion. However, at aphelion, the amount of sunlight Earth gets is slightly reduced.
Additionally, the Northern Hemisphere tilts away from the sun during perihelion in January, resulting in shorter days and cooler temperatures.
The planets have distinct orbital configurations. Gravity and a planet’s eccentricity determine how far a planet will veer from and away from the sun. Various planets exert varying degrees of gravitational force on one another. Jupiter prevails in this contest because it is the largest planet in our solar system and applies the greatest pressure. The eccentricity of a planet determines how elliptical its orbit becomes.
An orbit that is more elliptical will belong to a planet with a greater eccentricity. For example, Mars is located between 129 and 155 million miles from the sun and has an eccentricity of 0.094. Similar to this, the orbit of our planet Earth is relatively round due to its extremely low eccentricity of only 0.017.
-Raja Aditya
