The smallest Sun in 2023: When will the Earth be the furthest away from the Sun?

Very soon we will be able to observe an interesting astronomical phenomenon: the Earth will pass through aphelion, the most distant point of its orbit from the Sun.

According to the press service of the Moscow Planetarium, our planet will reach aphelion on July 6 (July 7, 2023, 00:06, Yerevan time). At this moment, the Earth will be at a distance of 152,094,000 kilometers from the Sun.

On this day, we will be able to observe the smallest disk of the Sun in 2023, only 31 minutes and 31 seconds of arc. At aphelion, the Earth will be about 152 million kilometers from the Sun, which is 5 million kilometers farther than at perihelion, the closest point in the orbit to the Sun.

The difference in the size of the solar disk between aphelion and perihelion is quite noticeable. However, this change occurs smoothly over half a year, so the human eye can hardly notice this difference. The relative change in disk size will be only 3 percent.

The word "aphelion" is of Greek origin (from the Greek words "apo" - away and "helios" - the Sun) and literally means "away from the Sun". Aphelion is the point in the orbit of a planet or other celestial body in the solar system that is farthest from the sun.

Aphelion observation is considered a unique opportunity for astronomers and amateur astronomers who they will be able to observe and study the characteristics of our orbit and the interaction of the Earth with the Sun. Although the change in the size of the solar disk will not be noticeable to the average observer, this event reminds us of the complex and precise organization of our solar system.