Earth 's orbit - wikipedia Earth 's orbit The Earth at different points in its orbit Earth 's orbit is the trajectory along which Earth travels around the Sun. The average distance between the Earth and the Sun is 149.60 million km ( 92.96 million mi ), and one complete orbit takes 365.256 days ( 1 sidereal year ), during which time Earth has traveled 940 million km ( 584 million mi ). Earth 's orbit has an eccentricity of 0.0167. As seen from Earth, the planet 's orbital prograde motion makes the Sun appear to move with respect to other stars at a rate of about 1 ° ( or a Sun or Moon diameter every 12 hours ) eastward per solar day. Earth 's orbital speed averages about 30 km / s ( 108,000 km / h ; 67,000 mph ), which is fast enough to cover the planet 's diameter in 7 minutes and the distance to the Moon in 4 hours. From a vantage point above the north pole of either the Sun or Earth, Earth would appear to revolve in a counter clockwise direction around the Sun. From the same vantage point, both the Earth and the Sun would appear to rotate also in a counterclockwise direction about their respective axes. Contents 1 History of study 2 Influence on Earth 3 Events in the orbit 4 Future 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links History of study Main article : Heliocentrism Heliocentric Solar System Heliocentrism ( lower panel ) in comparison to the geocentric model ( upper panel ) Heliocentrism is the scientific model that first placed the Sun at the center of the Solar System and put the planets, including Earth, in its orbit. Historically, heliocentrism is opposed to geocentrism, which placed the Earth at the center. Aristarchus of Samos already proposed a heliocentric model in the 3rd century BC. In the 16th century, Nicolaus Copernicus ' De revolutionibus presented a full discussion of a heliocentric model of the universe in much the same way as Ptolemy had presented his geocentric model in the 2nd century. This `` Copernican revolution '' resolved the issue of planetary retrograde motion by arguing that such motion was only perceived and apparent. `` Although Copernicus 's groundbreaking book... had been ( printed ) over a century earlier, ( the Dutch mapmaker ) Joan Blaeu was the first mapmaker to incorporate his revolutionary heliocentric theory into a map of the world. '' Influence on Earth Main article : Season Because of Earth 's axial tilt ( often known as the obliquity of the ecliptic ), the inclination of the Sun 's trajectory in the sky ( as seen by an observer on Earth 's surface ) varies over the course of the year. For an observer at a northern latitude, when the north pole is tilted toward the Sun the day lasts longer and the Sun appears higher in the sky. This results in warmer average temperatures, as additional solar radiation reaches the surface. When the north pole is tilted away from the Sun, the reverse is true and the weather is generally cooler. Above the Arctic Circle and below the Antarctic Circle, an extreme case is reached in which there is no sunlight at all for part of the year. This is called a polar night. This variation in the weather ( because of the direction of the Earth 's axial tilt ) results in the seasons. Events in the orbit By astronomical convention, the four seasons are determined by the solstices -- the two points in the Earth 's orbit of the maximum tilt of the Earth 's axis, towards the Sun or away from the Sun -- and the equinoxes -- the two points in the Earth 's orbit where the Earth 's tilted axis and an imaginary line drawn from the Earth to the Sun are exactly perpendicular to one another. The solstices and equinoxes divide the year up into four approximately equal parts. In the northern hemisphere winter solstice occurs on or about December 21 ; summer solstice is near June 21 ; spring equinox is around March 20 ; and autumnal equinox is about September 23. The effect of the Earth 's axial tilt in the southern hemisphere is the opposite of that in the northern hemisphere, thus the seasons of the solstices and equinoxes in the southern hemisphere are the reverse of those in the northern hemisphere ( e.g. the northern summer solstice is at the same time as the southern winter solstice ). In modern times, Earth 's perihelion occurs around January 3, and the aphelion around July 4 ( for other eras, see precession and Milankovitch cycles ). The changing Earth -- Sun distance results in an increase of about 6.9 % in total solar energy reaching the Earth at perihelion relative to aphelion. Since the southern hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun at about the same time that the Earth reaches the closest approach to the Sun, the southern hemisphere receives slightly more energy from the Sun than does the northern over the course of a year. However, this effect is much less significant than the total energy change due to the axial tilt, and most of the excess energy is absorbed by the higher proportion of water in the southern hemisphere. The Hill sphere ( gravitational sphere of influence ) of the Earth is about 1,500,000 kilometers ( 0.01 AU ) in radius, or approximately 4 times the average distance to the moon. This is the maximal distance at which the Earth 's gravitational influence is stronger than the more distant Sun and planets. Objects orbiting the Earth must be within this radius, otherwise they can become unbound by the gravitational perturbation of the Sun. Orbital characteristics epoch J2000. 0 aphelion 152.10 × 10 ^ km ( 94.51 × 10 ^ mi ) 1.0167 AU perihelion 147.10 × 10 ^ km ( 91.40 × 10 ^ mi ) 0.98329 AU semimajor axis 149.60 × 10 ^ km ( 92.96 × 10 ^ mi ) 1.000001018 AU eccentricity 0.0167086 inclination 7.155 ° to Sun 's equator 1.578690 ° to invariable plane longitude of the ascending node 174.9 ° longitude of perihelion 102.9 ° argument of periapsis 288.1 ° period 365.256 363 004 days average speed 29.78 km / s ( 18.50 mi / s ) 107,200 km / h ( 66,600 mph ) The following diagram shows the relation between the line of solstice and the line of apsides of Earth 's elliptical orbit. The orbital ellipse goes through each of the six Earth images, which are sequentially the perihelion ( periapsis -- nearest point to the Sun ) on anywhere from January 2 to January 5, the point of March equinox on March 19, 20, or 21, the point of June solstice on June 20, 21, or 22, the aphelion ( apoapsis -- farthest point from the Sun ) on anywhere from July 3 to July 5, the September equinox on September 22, 23, or 24, and the December solstice on December 21, 22, or 23. The diagram shows an exaggerated shape of Earth 's orbit ; the actual orbit is less eccentric than pictured. Because of the axial tilt of the Earth in its orbit, the maximal intensity of Sun rays hits the Earth 23.4 degrees north of equator at the June Solstice ( at the Tropic of Cancer ), and 23.4 degrees south of equator at the December Solstice ( at the Tropic of Capricorn ). Future Main article : Stability of the Solar System Mathematicians and astronomers ( such as Laplace, Lagrange, Gauss, Poincaré, Kolmogorov, Vladimir Arnold, and Jürgen Moser ) have searched for evidence for the stability of the planetary motions, and this quest led to many mathematical developments and several successive `` proofs '' of stability for the Solar System. By most predictions, Earth 's orbit will be relatively stable over long periods. In 1989, Jacques Laskar 's work indicated that the Earth 's orbit ( as well as the orbits of all the inner planets ) can become chaotic and that an error as small as 15 meters in measuring the initial position of the Earth today would make it impossible to predict where the Earth would be in its orbit in just over 100 million years ' time. Modeling the Solar System is a subject covered by the n - body problem. See also Astronomy portal Astronomical unit Barycenter Earth 's axial tilt Earth 's rotation Geocentric orbit -- the orbit of any object orbiting the Earth, such as the Moon or an artificial satellite Satellite Space station Notes Jump up ^ Our planet takes about 365 days to orbit the Sun. A full orbit has 360 °. That fact demonstrates that each day, the Earth travels roughly 1 ° in its orbit. Thus, the Sun will appear to move across the sky relative to the stars by that same amount. Jump up ^ For the Earth, the Hill radius is R H = a ( m 3 M ) 1 / 3, ( displaystyle R_ ( H ) = a left ( ( \frac ( m ) ( 3M ) ) \right ) ^ ( 1 / 3 ), ) where m is the mass of the Earth, a is an astronomical unit, and M is the mass of the Sun. So the radius in AU is about ( 1 3 ⋅ 332 946 ) 1 / 3 ≈ 0.01 ( displaystyle left ( ( \frac ( 1 ) ( 3 cdot 332 , 946 ) ) \right ) ^ ( 1 / 3 ) approx 0.01 ). Jump up ^ All astronomical quantities vary, both secularly and periodically. The quantities given are the values at the instant J2000. 0 of the secular variation, ignoring all periodic variations. ^ Jump up to : aphelion = a × ( 1 + e ) ; perihelion = a × ( 1 -- e ), where a is the semi-major axis and e is the eccentricity. Jump up ^ The reference lists the longitude of perihelion, which is the sum of the longitude of the ascending node and the argument of perihelion. Subtracting from that ( 102.937 ° ) the node longitude of 174.873 ° gives − 71.936 °. Adding 360 ° gives 288.064 °. That addition does not change the angle but expresses it in the usual 0 -- 360 ° range for longitudes. References Jump up ^ `` Sun : Facts & Figures ''. Solar System Exploration. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved July 29, 2015. Jump up ^ Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd ed, ISBN 0 - 943396 - 61 - 1 ( Richmond, VA : Willmann - Bell, 1998 ) 238. See Ellipse # Circumference. The formula by Ramanujan is accurate enough. ^ Jump up to : Williams, David R. ( 2004 - 09 - 01 ). `` Earth Fact Sheet ''. NASA. Retrieved 2007 - 03 - 17. Jump up ^ De revolutionibus orbium coelestium. Johannes Petreius. 1543. Jump up ^ Jerry Brotton, A History of the World in Twelve Maps, London : Allen Lane, 2012, ISBN 9781846140990 p. 262. Jump up ^ `` What causes the seasons ? ( NASA ) ''. Retrieved January 22, 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` Date & Time of Solstices & Equinoxes ''. August 28, 2013. Retrieved Jan 22, 2015. Jump up ^ Aphelion is 103.4 % of the distance to perihelion. See `` Orbital characteristics '' table. Due to the inverse square law, the radiation at perihelion is about 106.9 % of the radiation at aphelion. Jump up ^ Williams, Jack ( 2005 - 12 - 20 ). `` Earth 's tilt creates seasons ''. USAToday. Retrieved 2007 - 03 - 17. Jump up ^ Vázquez, M. ; Montañés Rodríguez, P. ; Palle, E. ( 2006 ). `` The Earth as an Object of Astrophysical Interest in the Search for Extrasolar Planets '' ( PDF ). Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. Retrieved 2007 - 03 - 21. ^ Jump up to : Simon, J.L. ; Bretagnon, P. ; Chapront, J. ; Chapront - Touzé, M. ; Francou, G. ; Laskar, J. ( February 1994 ). `` Numerical expressions for precession formulae and mean elements for the Moon and planets ''. Astronomy and Astrophysics. 282 ( 2 ) : 663 -- 683. Bibcode : 1994A&A... 282... 663S. Jump up ^ Allen, Clabon Walter ; Cox, Arthur N. ( 2000 ). Allen 's Astrophysical Quantities. Springer. p. 294. ISBN 0 - 387 - 98746 - 0. Jump up ^ The figure appears in multiple references, and is derived from the VSOP87 elements from section 5.8. 3, p. 675 of the following : Simon, J.L. ; Bretagnon, P. ; Chapront, J. ; Chapront - Touzé, M. ; Francou, G. ; Laskar, J. ( February 1994 ). `` Numerical expressions for precession formulae and mean elements for the Moon and planets ''. Astronomy and Astrophysics. 282 ( 2 ) : 663 -- 683. Bibcode : 1994A&A... 282... 663S. Jump up ^ `` What is the significance of the Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle ? ''. Retrieved Jan 22, 2015. Jump up ^ Laskar, J. ( 2001 ). `` Solar System : Stability ''. In Murdin, Paul. Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astropvhysics. Bristol : Institute of Physics Publishing. article 2198. Jump up ^ Gribbin, John ( 2004 ). Deep simplicity : bringing order to chaos and complexity ( 1st U.S. ed. ). New York : Random House. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4000 - 6256 - 0. Jump up ^ `` Earth - Venus smash - up possible ''. June 11, 2009. Retrieved Jan 22, 2015. External links Media related to Earth 's orbit at Wikimedia Commons Gravitational orbits Types General Box Capture Circular Elliptical / Highly elliptical Escape Graveyard Horseshoe Hyperbolic trajectory Inclined / Non-inclined Osculating Parabolic trajectory Parking Synchronous semi sub Transfer orbit Geocentric Geosynchronous Geostationary Sun - synchronous Low Earth Medium Earth High Earth Molniya Near - equatorial Orbit of the Moon Polar Tundra About other points Areosynchronous Areostationary Halo Lissajous Lunar Heliocentric Heliosynchronous Parameters Shape Size e Eccentricity a Semi-major axis b Semi-minor axis Q, q Apsides Orientation i Inclination Ω Longitude of the ascending node ω Argument of periapsis π Longitude of the periapsis Position M Mean anomaly ν, θ, f True anomaly E Eccentric anomaly L Mean longitude l True longitude Variation T Orbital period n Mean motion v Orbital speed t Epoch Maneuvers Collision avoidance ( spacecraft ) Delta - v Delta - v budget Bi-elliptic transfer Geostationary transfer Gravity assist Gravity turn Hohmann transfer Low energy transfer Oberth effect Inclination change Phasing Rocket equation Rendezvous Transposition, docking, and extraction Orbital mechanics Celestial coordinate system Characteristic energy Escape velocity Ephemeris Equatorial coordinate system Ground track Hill sphere Interplanetary Transport Network Kepler 's laws of planetary motion Lagrangian point n - body problem Orbit equation Orbital state vectors Perturbation Retrograde motion Specific orbital energy Specific relative angular momentum Two - line elements List of orbits Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earth%27s_orbit&oldid=848149549 '' Categories : Earth Dynamics of the Solar System Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2010 All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from January 2018 Articles with permanently dead external links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Български Català Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español فارسی Français Gaeilge Galego हिन्दी Hrvatski Italiano Lëtzebuergesch Occitan Polski Português Română Русский Shqip Simple English Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Svenska Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 19 more Edit links This page was last edited on 30 June 2018, at 02 : 24 ( UTC ). 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Question: what is the shape of the earth's orbit around the sun
Answer: ellipse