: While we are closer in January, the Northern Hemisphere experiences winter because it is tilted away from the sun. Seasons are caused by Earth's 23.5-degree axial tilt , not its proximity to the sun.
This extra solar radiation makes Southern Hemisphere summers slightly warmer than Northern Hemisphere summers, while the Northern Hemisphere's winters are technically "tempered" or made slightly less cold than they would be if perihelion happened in July. earth closest to sun month
Outside, the planet continued its swing, beginning the long, slow drag outward into the cold of July, leaving the furnace behind, racing toward the dark. : While we are closer in January, the
In contrast, during July (aphelion), the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, receiving more direct sunlight and longer days—overwhelming the small effect of being 3.4% farther away. Outside, the planet continued its swing, beginning the
Every year, people celebrated the Solstice in December as the "return of the light." But Elias realized that was just geometry, a tilt of the head. The true return, the physical rushing toward the source of life, happened now, in the dead dark of January.
Earth’s orbit around the Sun is not a perfect circle; it’s a slight ellipse (oval). The point where Earth is closest to the Sun is called , and the farthest point is aphelion .
Earth’s orbit is not a perfect circle; it is an ellipse (an oval shape). Because of this slight elongation, there is one point in the year where we are closest to the Sun and one point where we are farthest away.