Tilt of the Earth, seasonal difference in miles?

The Earth's orbit around the Sun is not circular and it's about 3 million miles closer during winter in North America than during summer. If this sounds strange, it's because the seasons are due to the tilt of the Earth's axis, not it's distance from the Sun. The tilt means that the Sun is shining at a lower angle in winter and is above the horizon for several hours less each day and this is the main cause of the seasons.

Morningfox: Your dates are the wrong way round.

It doesn't matter, because it's not relevant to the seasons. In fact, the Earth is closer to the Sun in December and January than it is in June and July. It's the angle of the rays of the Sun hitting the Earth that causes the seasons. In winter the surface of the Earth in the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun which spreads the same amount of light and heat over a larger area, and there are also less hours of daylight and heat during each 24-hour day.

.

The Earth's tilt is 23.5 degrees. However, because the orbit around the Sun is not equal at all times (it's elliptical) difference in mileage varies. Check out the website http://ecology.com/features/tiltingearth/index.htm...

Using Washington D.C. at 00:00 UTC, I get these values.

Summer (June 21): 91,452,637 miles

Winter (December 21): 94,461,189 miles (3.29% more)

Difference: 3,008,552 miles

I would say none because the tilts are rather even. I'm not exactly sure but I think so.