Is Earths distance from the sun always the same?
No. The Earth is at aphelion, its greatest distance from the Sun, on July 3rd. It will be slightly over 3 million miles farther from the Sun than it is on its closest approach on Jan. 4 this year. It may surprise some that it is much colder when we are closer to the Sun but such a small difference, given the fact that Earth’s average distance from the Sun is nearly 93 million miles, plays no significant role in the amount of solar energy that reaches us. What determines the seasons is not distance but tilt. The Earth’s axis of spin, which points towards Polaris the pole star, lies 23.5 degrees from the vertical. North America is tilted favorably towards the Sun in the summer and away from it in the winter.
