This Thursday, Earth Will Reach Its Farthest Point From the Sun in 2025, Aphelion: So Why Is It Summer?
The Earth is about to reach its maximum distance from the Sun: it will happen at the beginning of this month of July. What is happening, what will be the consequences, and what will be the effects on the summer that is now entering its heart?
With summer now fully underway after the solstice on June 21, we are entering the heart of July. In 2025, summer is behaving somewhat erratically in some parts of Italy, with episodes of intense heat alternating with thunderstorms and cooler spells. However, the general trend remains quite hot, with significant thermal anomalies across Europe and persistent heatwaves.
In 2025, aphelion will occur on July 3 at 7:56 PM Italian time. This astronomical event happens every year and often sparks curiosity and questions: How is it possible that right in the middle of summer, Earth is actually farther from the Sun? Let’s find out the answer together.
Earth’s Orbit Is Elliptical
Earth orbits the Sun along an elliptical path, not a circular one, completing one revolution in about 365 days and 6 hours (hence the need for leap years every four years to correct this "error"). This elliptical shape was first described by German astronomer Johannes Kepler, a contemporary of Galileo Galilei.
Because of this eccentricity, there are two distinct moments during the year: one when Earth is closest to the Sun (perihelion) and one when it is farthest away (aphelion).
Aphelion and Perihelion
Perihelion occurs in early January, when Earth is about 147 million kilometers from the Sun. Aphelion, on the other hand, happens in early July and marks the farthest point: about 152 million kilometers.
The name comes from the Greek terms “apó” (far) and “helios” (Sun), and it was Kepler himself who introduced it to describe this point in the year.
In Summer We Are Farther From the Sun, but Distance Doesn’t Affect the Seasons
It’s surprising but true: the Earth-Sun distance is not what causes the seasons. The difference between 147 and 152 million kilometers is too small to significantly affect our planet’s temperature or drive the changing seasons.
In fact, as further proof of this, when Earth is at aphelion, it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
The reason does not lie in the distance but in the tilt of Earth’s axis relative to the plane of its orbit around the Sun.
Earth is tilted by about 23°27′, and this tilt causes the amount of sunlight received by each hemisphere to change throughout the year. When it is summer in the north, the Sun’s rays strike more directly and for more hours per day, while in the Southern Hemisphere it is winter — and vice versa six months later.
The Real Cause of the Seasons Is Earth's Tilt Relative to the Sun
Our planet revolves around the Sun with a stable tilt, and it is precisely this tilt that determines the changing seasons, solstices, and equinoxes.
So, even though on July 3, 2025, we will be at the farthest point from the Sun, we will continue to fully experience the summer season, especially in areas where the heat is already being strongly felt — unfortunately, as recent forecasts confirm.