JoinScope on the Skies: Summer skies
In its path around the Sun, the Earth follows an elliptically shaped orbit. On July 5, 2004, the Earth reached aphelion, its maximum distance from the Sun, and is approximately 1.0166933 AU (Astronomical Unit) from the Sun. An AU is equal to the average distance between the Earth and Sun, approximately 149,597,870 km (92,955,807 miles). About six months later, on January 2, 2005, this distance shrank to approximately 0.9832968 AU when Earth reached perihelion, its minimum distance from the Sun.