The Earth: Shape and Size-Perihelion
The earth is an oblate spheroid in shape. It is bumped at the equator side and flattened at the pole side.
This study focuses on a discussion on the size and shape of the Earth. The earth is an oblate spheroid in shape instead of round as a sphere. In the older times, it was considered that the shape of the earth was spherical. After reviewing the shape of the earth through satellite, it has been seen that the earth is bumped at the equator and flattened at the poles. As the earth is bumped from the equator and flattened at the pole, it is named an oblate spheroid. The orbit in which the earth rotates around the sun has a significant contribution in the Perihelion and aphelion. If the orbital of the earth has a completely round shape instead of an elliptical shape,the condition of Perihelion and aphelion was not possible as the distance of all the points of the earth remained the same.
Discussion on Shape and size of earth
The shape of the earth is an oblate spheroid and its radius is 6,371 km. There are mainly two types of activity that are aphelion and perihelion seen on the earth. When the sun comes closest to the earth, the particular point of the earth which has the nearest distance from the sun is called perihelion. On the other hand, during the revolution of the earth around the sun, the point on the earth which is farthest from the sun is called aphelion. These two activities show that the shape of the earth is neither spherical nor oval. After detailed research on the shape of the earth, it has been found that the shape of the earth is an oblate spheroid.
Definition of perihelion
Perihelion is defined as the point on the orbital of the earth which is closest to the sun. The perihelion occurs after two weeks of the Winter solstice. It has been seen that the temperature at the perihelion point is 2.3 degrees less than that of the aphelion. On the other hand, the aphelion is defined as a geographical phenomenon in which the distance between the sun and the orbit of the earth is highest. After reviewing some articles on aphelion, it has also been found that there is a difference between 4 degrees Fahrenheit or 2.3 degrees centigrade between the aphelion and perihelion region of the earth. It is one of the most important topics for SSC exams as many questions based on aphelion and perihelion are asked in the SSC exams.
The reason behind the occurrence of perihelion and aphelion
There is a vital contribution of the orbit of the earth in which it moves around the sun in the occurrence of perihelion and aphelion. It has been found that the revolution of the earth takes place in an elliptical path and the sun is located at one of the foci of this elliptical path. Due to this, the distance between the earth and the sun is closest when it comes near to the foci and the orbital distance between the sun and the earth is very low at that point. This point is called perihelion. On the other hand, when the earth revolves around the sun, a condition arises where the earth is nearer to the foci opposite to the sun. In this case, the distance between the sun and the earth is farther and this point of orbit is called aphelion.
Conclusion
From this study, it has been found that the orbital path of the earth has a very important role in the aphelion and perihelion of the earth. This phenomenon mainly occurs due to the elliptical path of the orbit that is followed by the earth in its revolution around the sun. Due to this, the distance between the sun and the earth varies. The impact of this activity on the temperature of the earth has been appropriately discussed in this study. It has also been found that the difference between the temperature of perihelion and aphelion is 2.4 degrees centigrade.