Earth reaches farthest point from Sun Monday night

JEDDAH — Earth will reach aphelion Monday night, its farthest point from the Sun in its annual orbit, at 8:30 p.m. Makkah time, according to the Jeddah Astronomical Society. The distance between the Earth and the Sun will be approximately 152 million kilometers. The annual astronomical event confirms that the changing of the seasons is determined by the Earth's axial tilt rather than its distance from the Sun. Majed Abu Zahra, President of the Jeddah Astronomical Society, said that reaching aphelion does not result in lower temperatures, as the seasons are governed not by the Earth's distance from the Sun but by its 23.4-degree axial tilt, which causes the Northern Hemisphere to receive the Sun's rays at a steeper angle during summer. He noted that the Earth travels more slowly in its orbit at aphelion, making summer in the Northern Hemisphere slightly longer than winter. Abu Zahra added that the Earth's orbit is elliptical, causing its distance from the Sun to vary by about 5 million kilometers over the course of a year. As a result, the Sun appears slightly smaller at aphelion than at perihelion, although the difference is not visible to the naked eye. These phenomena, according to Abu Zhara, are part of the Earth's natural orbital variations, which help scientists better understand climate patterns and the evolution of the seasons over time.