Earth's perihelion takes place in early January. The exact date shifts because the calendar year doesn't perfectly match Earth's orbit. In 2025, perihelion occurred at 8:28 a.m. EDT (1328 GMT) on Jan. 3, according toTime and Date. At that time, Earth was 91,405,992 miles (147,10...
Broad Definition: A supermoon isa new or full Moon that occurs when the Moon is near perigee(the point in the Moon’s orbit where it is closest to Earth). By this definition, there can be several supermoons in a year. The term, “supermoon,” was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle i...
General relativity is a physical theory about space and time and it has a beautiful mathematical description. According to general relativity, the spacetime is a 4-dimensional object that has to obey an equation, called the Einstein equation, which explains how the matter curves the spacetime. Wh...
but can also occur at lakes where waves are breaking. A rip current is the movement of water away from the shoreline and out to sea. When waves break on a beach water is pushed onto the land, and as the water flows back into the ocean it ...
These points—called perihelion and aphelion—occur inJanuary and July, respectively. But if January is when Earth is closer to the Sun, why isn't the weather warmer at that time? ... This produces our winter weather, when the days are short and cold. ...
Earth's orbit around the Sun is also elliptical, with the Sun closest atperihelion, and farthest away at aphelion. Earth's and the Moon's elliptical orbits mean that Earth’s distance from the Sun and theMoon's distance from Earthvaries throughout the year. It also means that from Earth...
Why is Halley's Comet famous? Why is Halley's Comet so famous? What is Halley's Comet's average distance from the sun? Did Halley's Comet have different names? What is the center of a comet called? Was Halley's Comet visible in October of 2019? What is the perihelion distance of ...
Distance Does Not Cause Seasons Spring, summer, fall, and winter. ©iStockphoto.com/Smitt It is a common misconception that seasons occur because of Earth's elliptical orbit around the Sun, with winter occurring when Earth is farthest away from the Sun, and summer when it is closest to ...
The Vernal Equinox:Occurring during the month of March, the vernal equinox marks the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere and beginning of fall in the southern hemisphere. The vernal equinox is one of the two days per year when the whole Earth gets 12 hours of daylight and 12 ...
The moon has more influence on the tides than the sun does, but the sun plays a key role to create King Tides. When the sun is closest to the Earth called perihelion it, too, exerts its peak gravitational pull on the Earth. So when the sun, moon and Earth line up at perigee and ...