Earth Farthest Away From The Sun On July 4th!

Today is Independence Day here in the United States, also known as the Fourth of July; the day that we celebrate the ratification of the Declaration of Independence on Thursday, July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by the Second Continental Congress.

Since the Fourth of July is a national holiday in the U.S., most Americans have the day off work today and enjoy various summer activities and patriotic displays on this day; all under the blazing heat of the early summer sunshine here in the Northern Hemisphere.

From an astronomical point-of-view, the 4th day of July marks another important yearly milestone that affects the planet as a whole.

On Monday, July 4, 2022, at approximately 3:10 AM EST, our Earth reached its farthest point in orbit -- or its aphelion -- from the Sun at approximately 94,509,598 miles (or 152,098,455 km).

Its pretty trippy to realize that, during summer time here in the Northern Hemisphere, the blazing hot sun we see in the daytime sky is actually farther away from the Earth than at any other time during the year!

How is this possible?

Well folks, the answer to that question is that it isn't not so much our distance from the sun that determines how warm the summer months are on Earth, rather its both the orbit of our planet and the tilt of our world’s axis that causes our planet's four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and autumn.

Our amazing planet Earth orbits our Sun in a counterclockwise direction at an average distance of 93 million miles (or 149.6 million kilometers) speeding along in an orbit at about 67,000 miles (or 110,000 kilometers) per hour, or 19 miles (30 km) per second. One complete orbit takes around 365.25 days (or 1 sidereal year), during which time Earth travels about 584 million miles (or 940 million km).

Our Earth moves around the Sun at an average distance of 93 million miles (or 149,668,992 km) in an elliptical orbit that, while circular, is not entirely an even circle. Because of this at a single point six months (or 180 days) apart from one another the Earth reaches a point where it is farther and closer to the Sun in its orbit. The closest point is referred to as perihelion, while the furthest point is referred to as aphelion.

Both the perihelion and the aphelion take place roughly about half a month following the winter and summer solstice every year.

On Tuesday, January 4, 2022, earlier this year, the Earth reached its closest point (perihelion) to the Sun at approximately 1:52 AM EST at about 91,406,842 miles (or 147,105,052.7 km).

Now then, let's talk about the axis of the Earth as it relates to the yearly orbit of the planet.

Earth spins as it revolves around the sun on a polar axis that is tilted approximately 23.4 degrees on its plane of its orbit, which places one hemisphere facing the Sun during the summer months for each hemisphere. In winter, your part of Earth is tilted away from the sun. In summer, your part of Earth is tilted toward the sun. The day of maximum tilt toward, or away from the sun is during the December or June solstice.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer months range from the solstice on June 21/22 till the equinox on September 21/22 every year. By contrast, in the Southern Hemisphere, the situation is reversed with the summer months there serving as the winter months here in the Northern Hemisphere (the solstice on December 21/22 to the equinox on March 21/22).

The elliptical path the Earth travels around the Sun in its orbit that we see here on the surface of the Earth is referred to as the Ecliptic plane. From our perspective here on Earth the Sun seems to move during the six months between solstice and equinox, rising and setting in different locations along the lines of latitude.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Sun's most northerly circle overhead in the sky occurs on the June solstice when it reaches the Tropic of Cancer (Northern Tropic) line of latitude when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun to its maximum northern extent.

By contrast, its Southern Hemisphere counterpart is the Tropic of Capricorn (Southern Tropic) line where the Sun reaches its furthest southern extent during the December solstice.

Graphic depicting the summer and winter solstice in North America and the position of the Earth
tilt in its orbit of the Sun.

The line between the middle of the Sun and Earth models represents the ecliptic plane during the
June and December solstice along the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

So while everyone here in the U.S. is currently enjoying summer and the Fourth of July holiday today, this blog's readers across the Earth in Australia, New Zealand, and other places below the Equator are enjoying their winter months, with autumn and spring respectively waiting just two months, or so, for each.

Meanwhile anyone living above the Arctic Circle will be enjoying close to six months of continuous sunlight, while anyone living below the Antarctic Circle is currently living in nearly six months of dark night skies.

Another example of just how strange and wonderful our planet and its place in the Solar System is, and how it effects our daily (and yearly) lives.

Well folks, I hope y'all enjoyed this presentation and have a wonderful day today wherever you are -- and for all my fellow Americans, Happy 4th of July, Y'all!