I've read somewhere that having the Earth at perihelion during the southern hemisphere's summer, where the majority of the Earth's surface is water, has helped keep the overall temperature of the Earth more moderate. In 13,000 years, the northern hemisphere, where the majority of the surface is land masses, will be pointed towards the sun at perihelion. Because of that, it's predicted that the Earth's temperatures should be considerably warmer than it is now. --- On Mon, 1/3/11, daniel turner <outwest112@yahoo.com> wrote: From: daniel turner <outwest112@yahoo.com> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Perihelion To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Monday, January 3, 2011, 1:14 PM Today marks the earth's closest approach to the sun during the year. 147 million kilometers. It also marks our highest speed in the orbit around the sun. 30.29 kilometers per second. For contrast, on July 4th we will be at aphelion 152 million kilometers our farthest from the sun and traveling 29.29 kilometers per second, our slowest of the year. This comes about from our slightly elliptical orbit around the sun. e equals 0.0167. Happy Perihelion. DT _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com