Because the Gregorian calendar doesn't perfectly match Earth's orbit, the exact date and time shift slightly each year:
Because Earth’s orbit is not a perfect circle, the distance varies by about 3% over the year. However, this variation is small compared to the power of the axial tilt. In fact, because land heats up and cools down faster than water, the Earth is actually slightly warmer when it is farther from the sun in July (aphelion), simply because there is more landmass in the Northern Hemisphere at that time. when is the earth nearest to the sun
The answer lies in the , not its distance from the sun. The answer lies in the , not its distance from the sun
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you can step outside on a cold day in early January knowing that while you are shivering, your planet is actually at its closest point to its star for the entire year. This is about 5 million km closer than
A very common question is: "If we are closest to the sun in January, why is it winter in the Northern Hemisphere?"
At this point, Earth is approximately 147 million km (91.4 million miles) from the sun. This is about 5 million km closer than at its farthest point, called aphelion, which occurs in early July.