How Far is Earth From The Sun Now? Real-Time Distance (Updated Daily) (2024)

FAQs

How far is the Earth from the Sun now? ›

Our solar system is so big it is almost impossible to imagine its size if you use ordinary units like feet or miles. The distance from Earth to the Sun is 93 million miles (149 million kilometers), but the distance to the farthest planet Neptune is nearly 3 billion miles (4.5 billion kilometers).

As noted earlier, Earth's average distance to the Sun is about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from the Sun.

The distance between the Earth and the sun varies during the year because of the planet's slightly elliptical orbit. At its closest approach, Earth is about 3 million miles closer to the sun than at its farthest point. As a result, sunlight is about 7 percent more intense when Earth is closest to the sun.

So, Earth travels about 1.6 million miles (2.6 million km) a day, or 66,627 mph (107,226 km/h).

The Easiest way to get the distance between the Sun and the Earth is using the Equation of Motion. S = V.t. For this we need the Time that a Photon takes to reach Earth from the Sun's Surface and the Speed of light in Vacuum. Once we have these we can put these in the distance equation.

If Earth were 1 inch closer to the Sun at all times, the average global temperature would increase by about 0.1 degrees Celsius (0.18 degrees Fahrenheit). This may seem like a small change, but it could have a significant impact on Earth's climate patterns. The tilt of Earth's axis is the main cause of the seasons.

The distance of The Sun from Earth is currently 152,012,106 kilometers, equivalent to 1.016138 Astronomical Units. Light takes 8 minutes and 27.0578 seconds to travel from The Sun and arrive to us.

Still, on average, the expanse between Earth and the sun is slowly increasing over time. This growing distance has two major causes. One is that the sun is losing mass. The other involves the same forces that cause tides on Earth.

Distances in the solar system are commonly measured in Astronomical Units (AU). An AU is simply the average distance between the Earth and the Sun. Because the Earth's orbit around the Sun is an ellipse, the Earth is not always the same distance from the Sun. An AU is equal to ~149,600,000 km.

Conversely, a shift in the orbit moving Earth farther from the sun would cool and potentially freeze the planet. Oceans would be covered in ice, causing them to release less carbon dioxide and vapor.

What happens if the sun gets closer to Earth? ›

Being closer to the sun would mean the average temperature of the earth would increase by about . 012 degrees C. We would not notice that. The day would get shorter by about 11 seconds.

The Earth has an elliptical orbit around our Sun. This being said, the Earth is at its closest point distance wise to the Sun in January (called the Perihelion) and the furthest in July (the Aphelion).

You, your friends, the buildings, cars and even the air around you is being held together by Earth's gravitational pull. Since the Earth rotates at a near-constant speed—that is, it doesn't speed up or slow down in any way noticeable to us—we simply spin with it and don't feel a thing.

Once Earth doesn't spin on its own axis, a day lasts as long as a year. Everywhere receives six months of daylight, gradually heating up the planet to well over 100°C. The huge central continent would get the hottest and any remaining lakes and rivers would boil away and be blown to the poles by fierce winds.

Roughly 1.3 billion years from now, "humans will not be able to physiologically survive, in nature, on Earth" due to sustained hot and humid conditions. In about 2 billion years, the oceans may evaporate when the sun's luminosity is nearly 20% more than it is now, Kopparapu said.

It's true that Earth is farthest from the sun every year in early July, about two weeks after the June solstice. And it's true that Earth is closest to the sun every year in early January, about two weeks after the December solstice.

Depending on your preferred method of transport, it would take you 19 years to reach the Sun on a plane travelling at 885 km/h (550 mph) or 177 years to drive at 96 km/h (60 mph) or 3,536 years to walk there at 4.8 km/h (3 mph). A photon of light makes the journey from the Sun to Earth in just 8 minutes and 20 seconds.

A less dramatic shift in Earth's orbit would primarily affect the planet's temperature. The closer you are to the sun, the hotter the climate. Even a small move closer to the sun could have a huge impact. That's because warming would cause glaciers to melt, raising sea levels and flooding most of the planet.

In addition to this daily rotation, Earth orbits the Sun at an average speed of 67,000 mph, or 18.5 miles a second. Perhaps that seems a bit sluggish — after all, Mars Pathfinder journeyed to Mars at nearly 75,000 miles per hour.