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RodneyNeff's Blog

by RodneyNeff from Cuba, Mo

Last Post 140 days, 21 hours Ago


...The Earth Farthest from the Sun on the 4th of July...THE EARTH AT APHELION:
On the 4th of July, you will be farther from the sun than at any other time of the year. Earth's orbit around the sun is not a perfect circle, it's an ellipse, and on July 4th, Earth is at the end of the ellipse farthest from the sun.
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Astronomers call this "aphelion." When we are at aphelion, the sun appears slightly smaller in the sky (by about 1.7%) and global solar heating is actually a little less (by about 3.5%) than the yearly average. This provides scant relief from northern summer heat, however

Information from via web site: NWS Springfield, MO










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chopper5654
Jul 9, 2008 | 10:09 AM

you lost me. interesting stuff, but you lost me.

can anyone explain why the aphelion is not the same as the solstice?

i mean, i know that the sunrises and sunsets arent in perfect unison, the sunsets lag a bit from solstices, but i just cant wrap my head around this logically.

Skywatcher2001
Jul 14, 2008 | 3:11 PM

Solstices occur twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is most orientated toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun to reach its northernmost and southernmost extremes. It has nothing to do with the distance of the earth from the sun and how it changes due to our orbit not being a perfect circle.

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RodneyNeff

Hi my name is Rodney. Live in little town called Cuba, Mo. I also work at a little grocery store. A Fox 2 storm spotter for Cuba. Now a member of (NASCAS™)Storm Chasers and Storm Spotters Association™.

Member Since: 9/14/2006