July 4, Earth celebrates
Independence Day by getting as far away from the sun as possible — reaching aphelion at 3 a.m. EDT
At aphelion,
Earth will be 94.51 million miles (152.1 million kilometers) away from the sun,
Earth will be 1.67%
farther from the sun than the mean Earth-sun separation, also known as an astronomical unit.
Earth will be closest
to the sun — a moment dubbed perihelion — on January 4, 2023, when it will be 91.4 million miles away from the sun
Earth's orbit
is not a perfect circle which is why we experience aphelion and perihelion.
Venus has the most circular
orbit. The planet ranges between just 66 million miles and 68 million miles from the sun