On this Independence Day, Earth is at its farthest point from the sun
On this Independence Day, it's time to wish everyone a "Happy aphelion." Monday marks the annual aphelion, the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet when it is at its farthest point from the sun. The Earth's aphelion happens to be rather patriotic, occurring on July 4.
This year, the aphelion occurred at 12:24 p.m. EDT, with the Earth exactly 94,512,904 miles from the sun. On the flip side, the planet was at its closest to the sun on January 2, during what is called the perihelion. The next perihelion will be Jan. 4, 2017, when the planet will be 91,404,322 miles from the sun, reports CBS News affiliate WPRI.
As the aphelion was happening, some astronomy fans from around the world took to social media to mark the rare occasion.
#4thofJuly Earth is reaching its farthest point (aphelion) from the sun -@earthskyscience #science pic.twitter.com/5C5Vn1EiyM
— E.J.B (@EdwardJBurnside) July 4, 2016
Happy Aphelion Day!!
— Greg R. Flick (@MrFlickRocks) July 4, 2016
And a happy Independence Day too, but let's put things in their proper order, right? pic.twitter.com/MTH8rboAUQ
At 12:24 p.m. EDT, Earth reached #Aphelion. At 94,512,904 miles, this is the farthest the Earth will be from the sun pic.twitter.com/irH0bxFGqU
— AccuWeatherAstronomy (@AccuAstronomy) July 4, 2016
Happy Birthday @ktarlow! You continue to rock! (It's one of the 2 days my tattoo is accurate (#aphelion)) pic.twitter.com/XuOA3wFyhc
— K P T (@TieDyedinATX) July 4, 2016