MADRID, July 4. (EUROPA PRESS) –
On July 5 this year, Earth will cross the farthest point from the Sun in its orbit in 2024, marking an astronomical milestone known as aphelion. and which takes place every year from July 2 to 7.
The exact moment of greatest separation will occur at 00:06 UTC, when the Earth and the Sun will be 152,098,455 kilometers apart, about five million kilometers further than at perihelion, which this year occurred on January 2. This was reported by the US Naval Observatory.
The Earth revolves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit 930 million kilometers long. at an average speed of 107,280 kilometers per hour, This means that the distance is covered in 365 days and almost 6 hours, therefore, every four years is considered a leap year.
SPEED CHANGES
But, according to Kepler’s second lawThis speed of movement varies, increasing until it reaches a maximum at perihelion – the shortest distance from the Sun – and is 110,700 kilometers per hour. and decreasing to a minimum at aphelion, to 103,536 kilometers per hour, The difference is more than 7,000 kilometers per hour.
Kepler realized that the line connecting the planets and the Sun covers the same area in the same period of time. This means that when the planets are close to the Sun in their orbit, They move faster than when they are further away.
Thus, the orbital velocity of a planet will be lower the greater the distance from the Sun, and at smaller distances the orbital velocity will be higher. The average distance from the Sun is 150 million kilometers. At aphelion it reaches 152.09 million kilometers, and at perihelion it drops to 147.10 million kilometers.