This past Monday July 5, 2021 our planet reached Aphelion at 6:27 p.m. EDT (3:27 p.m. PDT/22:27 UTC). At that time, the Earth was 94,510,886 miles (152,100,527 kilometers) from the Sun. Aphelion is the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is furthest from the sun.
The astronomy picture of the day today is Perihelion to Aphelion taken by Richard Jaworski. The photos taken by Richard Jaworski show the sun as it appeared on the Perihelion earlier this year on January 5th, and as it appeared on Monday. A clear difference in size, the distance between the Earth and Sun are clearly exemplified.
Debunked: The seasons are not a result of the distance between the Sun and the Earth. Although it is commonly thought that the summer occurs when the sun and the Earth are closest and that winter occurs when the Sun and Earth are furthest from each other, it simply is not true.
The Truth: The tilt of the Earth on its axis is what causes seasons. Think about it this way, winter doesn’t happen at the same time all around the world. When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere. So, the distance from the sun can’t determine seasons. However, different parts of the Earth are tilted toward or away from the Sun at different points of the year. When the north pole tilts toward the sun, it is summer in the northern hemisphere. When the South Pole tilts toward the Sun, it’s winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
Lets see what others had to say about this years Aphelion:
Featured Image by Zultan Tasi
