Earth to reach its farthest point from the Sun this Friday morning

Tomorrow, the Earth will reach aphelion, the farthest point in its orbit relative to the Sun. This event is one of the significant moments in our planet's annual orbital cycle.

The Earth travels around the Sun in an ellipse. The cycle of a full orbit lasts 365.25 days, and the Earth's closest approach is on January 4th during perihelion.

At aphelion, the Earth is as far as 94 million miles from the Sun, about 3 million miles further than at perihelion.

On this day, the Sun will appear to be the smallest disk of the entire year. This is due to the principle of perspective—the farther an object is from the observer, the smaller it appears.

Aphelion occurs on the orbits of planets, asteroids, and comets. It is the point in the orbit of a celestial body orbiting the Sun at which the body is farthest from the Sun. Despite the increased distance from the Sun, aphelion does not directly impact seasonal temperatures on Earth.

The Earth typically reaches its aphelion at the beginning of July every year, when its distance from the Sun is about 94.5 million miles. In the case of comets, the difference between aphelion and perihelion can be much more significant, leading to dramatic changes in their activity and appearance as they approach the Sun.

In 2024, the Earth reach aphelion on Friday, July 5th at 3:06 AM ET. At that time, the Earth will be at its farthest point from the Sun in its orbit.

Despite this distance, the amount of solar energy reaching our planet is sufficient to maintain warm conditions in the Northern Hemisphere. This is mainly due to the tilt of the Earth's axis, which causes more excellent sunlight in this period.