07/05/2018 – Ephemeris – Earth will be the farthest from the Sun in its orbit tomorrow

Ephemeris for Thursday, July 5th. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 27 minutes, setting at 9:30, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:04. The Moon, 1 day before last quarter, will rise at 1:39 tomorrow morning.

At just before noon tomorrow the Earth will reach the aphelion point in its orbit of the Sun reaching 94.48 million miles from our star. The is a bit farther than the Earth was at its perihelion point in early January of 91.32 million miles. This doesn’t affect the total amount of heat the Earth gets from the Sun, as could be felt in the last week. The big temperature differences are due to the seasons, which are caused by the tilt of the Earth’s axis with respect to its orbit. However having aphelion in summer, when the Earth moves it slowest around the Sun makes summer the longest season. It’s 4 days longer than winter. I know it doesn’t feel like it in northern Michigan, especially with the April we had this year.

The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

The Earth’s orbit, somewhat exaggerated, showing aphelion and the seasons. Credit “Starts with a Bang” blog by Ethan Siegel.

The exact date and distance of aphelion and perihelion change by a few days and a few thousand miles every year.  The Earth’s orbit of the Sun is also affected by the other planets of the solar system, principally Venus and Jupiter.