This is a picture taken from the Atlantis shuttle. It shows the sun reflecting off of the ocean waters of Earth. Click on image for full size (71K JPEG ) Courtesy of NASA

Scientists use fancy words to describe things sometimes. The Earth doesn't orbit the Sun in a perfect circle. So, there is a point when the Earth is closest to the Sun and farthest from the Sun. Scientists call the closest point perihelion and the farthest point aphelion. In 2000, perihelion for the Earth was on January 3, 2000, and aphelion was on July 4, 2000. The Earth was 91,405,436 miles from Sun at perihelion and 94,511,989 miles from Sun at aphelion. The actual date for perihelion and aphelion will differ from year to year. You can see that the Earth is closest to the Sun in January and farthest from the Sun in July!

This may not seem right. I mean it's winter in the northern hemisphere in January when we are closest to the Sun. Shouldn't it be warmest then because we are closer? Actually, our seasons are determined by the tilt of the Earth and not by how close the Earth is to the Sun.

A few more numbers for you...the circumference of the Earth is 24,901.55 miles (40,075.16 km) at the equator. The Earth travels around, or "orbits" the Sun at a speed of 29.8 km/sec (67,000 mph). At the same time, the Earth also spins on its axis at a speed of .47 km/sec or a 1000 mph. Whew! Almost makes you dizzy, doesn't it?

Submitted by Leslie (age 44, Missouri, USA), Ducky (middleschooler), Wayne (age 12, New York, USA), Terry (age 44, Michigan, USA), Kristi (Toronto, Canada), Wykeenie (age 13, Louisiana, USA), Tommy (age 13, Pennsylvania, USA)
(November 7, 2000)

This is a picture taken from the Atlantis shuttle. It shows the sun reflecting off of the ocean waters of Earth. Click on image for full size (71K JPEG ) Courtesy of NASA

If a body (like the Earth) is orbiting around the Sun, we say it is closest to the Sun at perihelion and farthest from the Sun at aphelion. In 2000, perihelion for the Earth was on January 3, 2000, and aphelion was on July 4, 2000. The Earth was 91,405,436 miles from Sun at perihelion and 94,511,989 miles from Sun at aphelion. For the year 2001, perihelion will occur on January 3rd and aphelion will occur on July 4th. The actual date for perihelion and aphelion will differ from year to year. Most importantly though, you can see that the Earth is closest to the Sun in January and farthest from the Sun in July!

This may not seem right. I mean it's winter in the northern hemisphere in January when we are closest to the Sun. Shouldn't it be warmest then because we are closer? Actually, our seasons are determined by the tilt of the Earth and not by how close the Earth is to the Sun.

A few more numbers for you...the circumference of the Earth is 24,901.55 miles (40,075.16 km) at the equator. If you were to measure from the north pole to the south pole and back to the north pole, the circumference would be a bit shorter. That is because the Earth bulges a little bit around its waist (the equator). This "equatorial bulge" is caused by the Earth's spin - try spinning a water balloon as you toss it up into the air to see how this works. Tidal forces caused by the pull of gravity from the Sun and Moon also add a little to this bulge. So the pole to pole circumference is 24,859.82 miles (40,008 km).

Finally, the gravitational pull between the Earth and Sun causes the Earth to travel around, or "orbit", the Sun at a velocity of 29.8 km/sec. At the same time, the Earth also turns on its axis causing the daily cycle of day and night. This "rotational velocity" is approximately .47 km/sec. That means that at the same time we're hurtling through space at nearly 67,000 mph, we're also spinning around in circles at over 1000 mph! Whew! Almost makes you dizzy, doesn't it?

This is a picture taken from the Atlantis shuttle. It shows the sun reflecting off of the ocean waters of Earth. Click on image for full size (71K JPEG ) Courtesy of NASA

Ok. Let's get some terminology down first. If a body (like the Earth) is orbiting around the Sun, we say it is closest to the Sun at perihelion and farthest from the Sun at aphelion. If a body (like the Moon) is orbiting around the Earth, its closest point to the Earth is perigee and its farthest point from the Earth is apogee. In 2000, perihelion for the Earth was on January 3, 2000, and aphelion was on July 4, 2000. The Earth was 91,405,436 miles from Sun at perihelion and 94,511,989 miles from Sun at aphelion. For the year 2001, perihelion will occur on January 3, 2001 and aphelion will occur on July 4, 2001. The actual date for perihelion and aphelion will differ from year to year. But, you can see that the Earth is closest to the Sun in January and farthest from the Sun in July!

This may not seem right. I mean it's winter in the northern hemisphere in January and yet we are closest to the Sun. But, our seasons are actually determined by the tilt of the Earth and not the Earth's proximity to the Sun.

A few more numbers for you...the circumference of the Earth is 24,901.55 miles (40,075.16 km) at the equator. If you were to measure from the north pole to the south pole and back to the north pole, the circumference would be a bit shorter. That is because the Earth bulges a little bit around its waist (the equator). This "equatorial bulge" is caused by the Earth's spin - try spinning a water balloon as you toss it up into the air to see how this works. Tidal forces caused by the pull of gravity from the Sun and Moon also add a little to this bulge. So the pole to pole circumference is 24,859.82 miles (40,008 km).

Finally, the gravitational pull between the Earth and Sun causes the Earth to travel around, or "orbit", the Sun at a velocity of 29.8 km/sec. At the same time, the Earth also turns on its axis causing the daily cycle of day and night. This "rotational velocity" is approximately .47 km/sec. That means that at the same time we're hurtling through space at nearly 67,000 mph, we're also spinning around in circles at over 1000 mph! Whew! Almost makes you dizzy, doesn't it?