What are perihelion and aphelion when talking about the Earth and sun?

 

What are perihelion and aphelion when talking about the Earth and sun?

The Earth does not spin around the sun in a perfect circle, but follows an elliptical or oval orbit. Because of this, the Earth's orbit has a point at which it is closest to and another point at which it is farthest from-the sun. When the Earth is at its closest point to the sun, it is called perihelion; the point farthest away from the sun is called aphelion, Perihelion occurs when the Earth is about 91 million miles (147.5 million kilometers) from the sun, usually around January 3 of each year. Aphelion occurs when the Earth is about 94 million miles (152.6 million kilometers) away from the sun, which happens usually around July 4 of each year.