Earth, the Sun

Here is an interesting fact that few people know: although it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, Earth actually reaches aphelion—its farthest point from the Sun in its orbit—around early July. Specifically, this year it occurs on July 6th, at approximately 5:30 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

What happens during aphelion? Earth is at the point in its orbit furthest from the Sun; this year, it will be 152,880,000 km away. This event typically takes place between July 3rd and July 6th—this year, it falls on the 6th. To put this in perspective, there is a difference of 5 million kilometers between the point of closest approach (which occurs in winter, specifically in early January) and the point of greatest distance (which is now, on July 6th). While 5 million kilometers is a vast distance, it does not actually affect Earth's climate.

What determines the seasons—and the fact that we are currently in summer here—isn't that we are slightly farther from the Sun, but rather the angle, the 23.5-degree tilt of the Earth's axis. (I recall a movie that linked the number 23 to all sorts of things, but the actual figure is 23 and a half degrees.) While this specific aspect doesn't dictate the Earth's climate, that distance—the difference where the Northern Hemisphere is farther from the Sun in summer and closer in winter—does play a role.

That 5-million-unit difference—which amounts to exactly 3% of the distance—does have a slight impact on average winter and summer climates in the Northern Hemisphere. Summers are a bit more moderate, and winters are too—though only slightly. There was an interesting statistic regarding skin cancer rates in Australia that linked them to precisely this: during the Southern Hemisphere's summer (which coincides with the Northern Hemisphere's winter, when Earth is closest to the Sun), this factor was cited as a key reason why Australia has higher skin cancer rates than other parts of the world located at the same distance from the Equator.

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