Earth's orbit is an ellipse, not a perfect circle. Earth's distance from the Sun varies by about 3 million miles throughout the year. Earth's orbit's semimajor axis is approximately 93 million miles.

When you look at how the planets orbit in our Solar System, the correct answer was given hundreds of years ago: first by Kepler, whose laws of motion described it, and then by Newton, whose law of ...

The Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun and spinning on its axis, appears to make a closed, unchanging, elliptical orbit. If we look to a high-enough precision, however, we'll find that our ...

Here's how the astronomical phenomenon influences our planet—from the length of our seasons to the way Earth moves through ...

The Earth's orbital behaviors are responsible for more than just presenting us with a leap year every four years. According to one professor of earth and planetary sciences, parameters such as ...

The photo, taken during the X-37B’s seventh mission, shows Earth from High-Elliptical Orbit. On Feb. 20, 2025, the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs uploaded on the DVIDS website, what is ...

Our planet’s elliptical orbit doesn’t affect winter or summer temperatures. But some astronomers wonder whether it’s a factor in why life survives. By Shannon Hall This story was updated to reflect ...

P erihelion – or the Earth's closest approach to our host star – will take place on January 3, 2026. At this point, our ...

Planetary scientists have proposed a solution to the centuries-old problem of why the Moon’s far side bulges at its equator. Ian Garrick-Bethell and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of ...

The term "perihelion" describes the point in an astronomical body's orbit where it is nearest to the sun. Derived from the Greek words peri (around) and helios (sun), the word reflects its meaning. In ...

Perihelion, the point in a planet’s orbit where it is closest to the Sun, is a fascinating phenomenon that shapes much of our understanding of planetary motion. While Earth’s proximity to the Sun ...