News 24 | “Zaq” explains the reason for feeling cold these days as the earth has reached its closest distance from the sun

A member of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Science, Dr Khaled Al-Zaq, said the Earth has reached its closest distance from the sun during these days, what is known as the “perigee of the earth”.

He explained that the Earth rotates in oval, non-circular orbits, which means that the distance between the sun and the planet varies from day to day, indicating that the planet is at its perihelion when the distance between it and the sun is as little as possible.

He added that the planet is at its peak when the distance between it and the sun is as great as possible.

By feeling the cold during those days, despite the proximity of the planet to the sun, he showed that the cold and the heat depend on the angle of incidence of the rays and not on the distance, indicating that the angle of incidence of rays during these days is tilted compared to summer, which is vertical or almost vertical.