Every planet in the solar system has an orbit around the sun. This orbit is not a complete circle, so the distance can vary over time. There are times when the planet is at its closest point to the sun. This stage is referred to as perihelion.
How close will the earth be to the sun when it experiences perihelion? So does this cause a rise in temperature? Come on, let’s find out together through this description!
What is perihelion?
Reported Space, perihelion is an event in which the planet is in orbit around and at its closest point to its star. In this case, perihelion could occur from the earth to the sun or planet Other.
Perihelion itself comes from the Greek for the meaning ‘around’ e helios means “sun”. This event usually occurs about 2 weeks after the furthest December solstice.
In 2023, this event should occur on January 4th. When experiencing the perihelion phase, the earth will be 91,403,034 miles or approximately 147,098,924.35 km from the center of the sun. Almanac.
The time of the perihelion event is not always the same every year. It is very possible to shift the date because the time on the calendar is not the same as the time in Earth orbit.
In 1246, the December solstice coincided with the earth’s perihelion. Since then, the dates of perihelion and aphelion have shifted by one day every 58 years. Not just the long term, the date difference is two days from one year to the next, launch Time and date.
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Why does perihelion occur?
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Perihelion occurs because the shape of the orbit is not completely circle. Instead of being perfectly round, planetary orbits can be oval (low eccentricity) or slightly flattened (high eccentricity). Earth’s orbit has an eccentricity of 0.017, launch socratic.
As it rotates around its orbit, the planet is most likely to be closest to or furthest from the sun. The sun does not stand still at the center of the ellipse, it also moves to follow its own small elliptical orbit around the point called center of gravity (center of gravity) of the solar system.
Subsequently, the earth also moves in its orbit around and is at its furthest point from the sun. This stage is called aphelion and occurs in July. In 2022, the earth and the sun will be approximately 94,509,598 miles or 152,098,455 km apart when they experience aphelion.
Perihelion impact
The close range makes some people worry about the impact that could be caused. However, don’t worry, perihelion isn’t that close. The difference in distance between Earth’s closest point to the sun in January and Earth’s farthest point from the sun in July is about 3.1 million miles, or only a 7 percent difference.
The only impact that is sure to occur is that the shape of the sun looks bigger than usual. In practice, the difference between the normal distance and the closest distance, which is only 3%, is barely noticeable.
There are also those who think that the earth’s temperature is warmer due to the closer distance. In fact, changes in weather and seasons are affected by the axis Earth rotationnot the distance from the sun, spear Farmers Almanac.
During perihelion, it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere. However, some areas may receive stronger sunlight, depending of course on the angle of the sun above the horizon.
There is actually nothing to worry about from perihelion events. As happens every year, this astronomical phenomenon may not be perceived directly. Are you interested in watching it?
Read also: Quadrantid meteor shower: origins of drops and peaks
