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The earth orbits around the sun in an elliptical shape, which results in shorter or longer distances between the earth and sun. Likewise, objects orbit around the Earth in an elliptical shape, and terms apogee and perigee are used to describe when the object is furthest away and closest to Earth, respectively. Perihelion describes when the Earth is closest to the sun, which occurs around January 2nd, while aphelion refers to when the Earth is furthest away, which occurs around July 2nd. Eccentricity describes how much the orbital shape deviates from being a perfect circle.