Aphelion is when Earth is farthest from the Sun in its yearly trip around the Solar System.
Imagine you're swinging on a swing, sometimes you’re really high up (that’s like perihelion), and sometimes you’re lower down (that’s aphelion). Just like how you move higher and lower while swinging, Earth moves closer and farther from the Sun as it goes around it.
Why It Matters
Earth's path around the Sun is not a perfect circle, it’s more like an oval. Because of this shape, sometimes we're farther away, which is called aphelion. This happens in July, right when summer is happening in the Northern Hemisphere.
Even though we're farther from the Sun at aphelion, it's still warm because Earth is tilted, just like how a sunny day can feel warm even if you’re not too close to the light source. So, aphelion doesn’t make us cold, it’s just one part of Earth’s yearly journey!
Examples
- Imagine Earth taking a long walk away from the Sun, that's aphelion.
- At aphelion, we're about 94.5 million miles from the Sun.
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See also
- What are satellites?
- How Does Hewitt-Drew-it! PHYSICS 50.Circular/Elliptical Orbit Work?
- What does it mean that Earth moves around the Sun?
- What is aphelion?
- What Happens When Space Junk Collides? | Horizon: Space Junk | Earth Science?