Earth at its greatest distance from Sun today

The Earth is at its greatest distance from the Sun today on account of Aphelion Day, but don't expect any relief from the heat. Every July the Earth is at Aphelion, the farthest from the Sun and in January it is at Perihelion, the closest to the Sun.

The Earth is at its greatest distance from the Sun on Tuesday on account of Aphelion Day, but don't expect any relief from the heat.

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"At 17:30 on Tuesday, the Earth will be at its farthest point from the Sun (Aphelion), the distance will be 152,097,040 kms, which is about 5 million kms further away than its closest point in early January," President of Science Popularisation Association of Communication and Educators, Chander Bhushan Devgan, said.

Every July the Earth is at Aphelion, the farthest from the Sun and in January it is at Perihelion, the closest to the Sun, he said.

Explaining the reason why the temperature does not go down on Aphelion Day, Devgan said, "There are many reasons for it. Blame it on the tilt of the Earth's axis. Actually, our seasons are determined by the tilt and not by how close the Earth is to the Sun. Sunlight raises the temperature of continents more than it does to the oceans."

This is also the reason why the total energy received from Sun on Aphelion Day is around 7 per cent less than what we receive when it is closest to the Sun on Perihelion Day, he added.