Home > Astronomical Event, Earth, Ephemeris Program, Sun > Ephemeris: 07/03/2025 – The Sun is farthest away today

Ephemeris: 07/03/2025 – The Sun is farthest away today

July 3, 2025

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Thursday, July 3rd. Today the Sun will be up for 15 hours and 29 minutes, setting at 9:31, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:03. The Moon, 1 day past first quarter, will set at 1:36 tomorrow morning.

This afternoon at 5:59 PM, the Earth will reach aphelion from the Sun, the farthest it gets from it during the year. Earth will be 94 and a half million miles away from the Sun, a bit farther than our normal 93 million. In a planet’s orbit of the Sun, the Earth is no exception, it moves slowest when farthest from the Sun than when it’s nearest. It doesn’t make much difference in the amount of heat we get from the Sun being only 1½% farther than average. But it makes summer the longest season at 94 days, versus winter’s 89 days. OK, I know it doesn’t feel like it here in Northern Michigan, but count the days between each solstice and the next equinox.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

A highly exaggerated look at the orbit of the Earth showing perihelion and aphelion, also the equinoxes and solstices and the relation thereof.
A highly exaggerated look at the orbit of the Earth showing perihelion and aphelion, also the equinoxes and solstices and the relation thereof. Periapsis and apoapsis are general terms, for any orbit. For a satellite orbiting the Earth the terms would be perigee and apogee. Source unknown.
This is a diagram of the true shape of the Earth’s orbit
This is a diagram of the true shape of the Earth’s orbit and position of the Sun showing aphelion and perihelion for the year 2024. The dates do vary by up to a couple of days each year as do the distances by a tiny amount. The date difference is a bit more than the date change of the solstices and equinoxes year to year. Created using my LookingUp app, LibreOffice Draw for captions, and GIMP.
Categories: Astronomical Event, Earth, Ephemeris Program, Sun Tags: