This morning, at 2AM July 4 2009, our planet reached Aphelion, or the point in its orbit around the sun where the distance between (us and them) is the greatest. I find it slightly counterintuitive that this corresponds to the the peak of Summer for me (in the Northern Hemisphere). In fact, the Earth’s distance from the Sun has little to do with seasons. It is, instead, the tilt of Earth on its axis which causes seasonal climate changes.

Either way, Happy 4th of July!