Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy Perihelion

Believe it or not, the Earth will reach perihelion, its closest approach to the Sun for the year, at midnight tonight (12:00 am EST, January 2).

As I've explained before, while the Earth has an elliptical orbit, seasons are due to the tilt of the Earth's axis, not the changing distance to the Sun.  That's why it's still cold in January (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere - down under it's getting into summertime).

Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings - transitions, doorways,
and gates.  The first month of the year, January, was named in his honor.
 
May this be your best year ever!

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