The Sky This Week, 2013 July 2 – 9 — Naval Oceanography Portal
Earth passes aphelion, its most distant point from the Sun, on the 5th at 10:44 am EDT. At this time we’ll be 152,097,413 kilometers (94,508,951 miles) from Old Sol. Since we’re at our most distant from the day-star we’re moving at our slowest orbital velocity for the year. This causes the Northern Hemisphere summer season to last a bit longer than the other three. That may be a small consolation to think about once we’re in the grip of winter!
The Sky This Week, 2013 July 2 – 9 — Naval Oceanography Portal