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Credit & Copyright: Stephen Mudge
Explanation:
On July 3rd,
planet Earth
reached aphelion, the farthest point in
its elliptical orbit around the Sun.
Each year, this day of the most distant Sun happens to occur
during winter in the southern hemisphere.
That's where this aphelion sunrise from 2015 was captured in a
time series composite against the skyline of Brisbane, Australia.
Of course, seasons
for our fair planet are not determined by
distance to the Sun, but by the tilt of Earth's rotational axis
with respect to the ecliptic, the plane of its orbit.
Fondly known as the
obliquity of the ecliptic,
the angle of the tilt
is about 23.4 degrees from perpendicular to the orbital plane.
So the most distant sunrise occurs during northern summer, when
the planet's north pole is tilted toward the Sun
and the north enjoys longer, warmer days.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Sun
Publications with words: Sun
See also:
- APOD: 2024 February 19 Á Looking Sideways from the Parker Solar Probe
- Circling the Sun
- APOD: 2023 December 11 Á Solar Minimum versus Solar Maximum
- APOD: 2023 November 19 Á Space Station, Solar Prominences, Sun
- APOD: 2023 October 25 Á Gone in 60 Seconds: A Green Flash Sunset
- Circular Sun Halo
- APOD: 2023 August 1 Á Monster Solar Prominence