ORBIT
July 5 is the aphelion, the point in the year when the Earth is at its farthest distance from the Sun. The Earth and all the other planets have orbits that are “eccentric,” a slightly squashed circle, and the Sun is slightly closer to one end of the ellipse. The perihelion — the point in the orbit when we’re closest to the Sun — occurs in January, and at that time we’re about 5 million kilometers closer than we are at aphelion in July.
— The Writer’s Almanac
another eye opens 
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