What is Aphelion? The Earth is as far away from the Sun as it can be, but it has nothing to do with this heatwave



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Unfortunately for us, no matter how far from the sun we are: the Earth will still be hot as hell. On July 6, the Earth was at aphelion, officially at its farthest from the sun, orbiting at a distance of 94,507,803 miles, in contrast to its usual 93 million miles, according to Space.com. But although at aphelion, the Earth receives about 7% less sun than in January, the seasons and the temperature have nothing to do with our orbital distance, reported by the New York Times . Instead, the seasons on Earth "are the product of changes in the amount of direct sunlight as the planet sinks to the sun and away", according to The New York Times . Our path around the sun does not change enough distance for us to be affected by the distance – but there are other planets in our solar system that see the effects, like Mars.

David Grinspoon, Astrobiologist at the Planetary Science Institute, said The New York Times is a common misconception that the orbital distance of the Earth has something to do with the swing of the seasons . And he finds it "amusing" that this misconception "is really true if you are on Mars," he said The New York Times . That's because Mars has a huge difference of 31% in the amount of sunlight at different distances, unlike our 7%. "It's like slowly roasting your marshmallow from a safe distance over the campfire, then plummeting a good quick temper," said Tanya Harrison, a global scientist from Arizona State University. University, The New York Times And although we have the feeling of grilling right now, our temperature change is nothing compared to that of Mars, where, according to Space. com, a summer day "can reach 70 degrees [Fahrenheit] near the equator, but at night the temperature can drop to around minus 100 degrees. "This could seriously hurt the dreams of going to Mars for those of us who are passing the relatively lean seasonal weather changes of the Earth who are suffering from headaches to the sinuses.

As for Global Temperatures growing and the fact that in recent years forest fires (there is one right now in California), we can cite global warming, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.In a statement posted on its website , the union said, "the effects of global warming on temperature, rainfall and soil moisture are causing many of our forests to burn during the bushfire season."

can reliably attribute to climate change the fact that many areas that have experienced an increase in forest fires "are protected or relatively unaffected by the use and behaviors" human beings, "writes the union in its statement. "This suggests that climate change is a major factor leading to increased forest fires."

According to the union, if we continue to treat the Earth as we have been, we can expect temperatures to continue to rise. Forest fire seasons "to lengthen, with the possibility of lengthening the southwestern fire season from seven months to the entire year." In addition to facing the threat of wildfires year-round, we will face the strong possibility that "the forest fires themselves are more serious," writes the union.

Forest fires in the future will involve "creating buffer zones between human dwellings and sensitive forests, and meeting home and city fire safety standards," according to the union, but even more, if we want to keep global warming at bay. as a society must take important steps to do so. The union's list of ways to reduce our impact on the Earth includes expanding the use of renewable energy, increasing the efficiency of vehicles and reducing our oil consumption , and the construction of a clean energy economy, among others.

Behavior has influenced this current heat wave, you can take action. Beyond individual behavioral changes, such as reducing the amount of plastic waste you produce, you can also call your representatives and demand action on climate change. The Earth may be far from the sun, but it is still very hot, and, frankly, the sun is not to blame – we are.

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