Earth reaches aphelion and marks farthest point from sun in annual orbit

Jeddah - Yasmine El Tohamy - JEDDAH: Earth reached its annual aphelion on Monday, passing the farthest point in its orbit from the sun, at about 152 million km away, which scientists say reinforces the notion that the changing seasons are driven by the planet’s axial tilt and not distance.

The event occurred at 8:30 p.m. Makkah time and was recorded in separate reports by the Saudi Press Agency, citing the Jeddah Astronomy Society and the Noor Astronomy Society.

Majed Abu Zahra, director of the Jeddah Astronomy Society, said Earth’s greater distance from the sun during aphelion does not result in cooler temperatures because seasonal changes are caused by the approximately 23.4-degree tilt of Earth’s rotational axis.

During the Northern Hemisphere’s summer, that tilt allows the sun’s rays to strike the region more directly despite the planet being at its most distant point away.

Abu Zahra explained that Earth’s orbit is elliptical, causing its distance from the sun to vary by about 5 million km over the course of a year. As a result, the sun appears slightly smaller at aphelion than at perihelion, although the difference is too small to be seen with the naked eye.

He added that Earth travels more slowly at aphelion, making summer in the Northern Hemisphere slightly longer than winter. Such orbital variations, he said, help scientists better understand Earth’s climate and the long-term evolution of the seasons.

The Noor Astronomy Society described aphelion as a natural annual phenomenon resulting from the elliptical shape of Earth’s orbit.

The society’s President Issa Al-Ghafili said the event has no effect on the succession of the seasons or the intensity of solar radiation received by Earth. He noted that the four seasons are determined by Earth’s tilt as it revolves around the sun, not by changes in its distance from the star.

Al-Ghafili added that Earth reaches aphelion during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer and perihelion — its closest point to the sun — during the winter.

The Noor Astronomy Society stated that such celestial events should be used to deepen understanding of Earth’s motion, planetary science and the fundamental principles governing the solar system, while helping to dispel common misconceptions about the causes of the seasons.