...The Earth Farthest from the Sun on the 4th of July...
THE EARTH AT APHELION:
On the 4th of July, you will be farther from the sun than at any other time of the year. Earth's orbit around the sun is not a perfect circle, it's an ellipse, and on July 4th, Earth is at the end of the ellipse farthest from the sun.
Astronomers call this "aphelion." When we are at aphelion, the sun appears slightly smaller in the sky (by about 1.7%) and global solar heating is actually a little less (by about 3.5%) than the yearly average. This provides scant relief from northern summer heat, however
Average temperatures in July in the Ozarks are around 90 degrees for highs and 67 degrees for lows. The hottest temperature recorded in July at Springfield was 113 degrees back on the 14th of July 1954.
Return to News Archive
