The Sky This Week, 2014 July 1 – 8 — Naval Oceanography Portal

Earth reaches aphelion, its farthest point from the Sun, on the 3rd at 4:13 pm EDT.  At this time we’ll be just over 94,550,000 miles (153,000, 000 kilometers) from the day-star.  Six months from now, in early January, we’ll find ourselves closest to the Sun by a mere 3 million miles or so.  Fortunately this annual excursion means that the planet’s orbit is nearly circular, so our climate remains relatively benign throughout the year.

The Sky This Week, 2014 July 1 – 8 — Naval Oceanography Portal