Editing Earth's orbit (section)

{{Short description|Trajectory of Earth around the Sun}}
{{for|objects orbiting Earth|Geocentric orbit}} {{Distinguish|Earth orbit (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
[[File:North season.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Earth at seasonal points in its orbit (not to scale)]]
[[File:EarthsOrbit en.png|thumb|Earth orbit (yellow) compared to a circle (gray)]]

[[Earth]] [[orbit]]s the [[Sun]] at an [[astronomical unit|average distance]] of {{convert|149.60|e6km|e6mi|abbr=unit}}, or 8.317 [[light-second|light-minutes]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Display=Facts&Object=Sun |title=Sun: Facts & Figures |work=Solar System Exploration |publisher=[[National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] |access-date=July 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703111716/http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Sun&Display=Facts |archive-date=July 3, 2015 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> in a [[retrograde and prograde motion|counterclockwise]] direction as viewed from above the [[Northern Hemisphere]]. One complete orbit takes {{gaps|365.256||}}&nbsp;days (1 [[sidereal year]]), during which time Earth has traveled {{convert|940|e6km|e6mi|0|abbr=unit}}.<ref name="AA">[[Jean Meeus]], ''Astronomical Algorithms'' 2nd ed, {{ISBN|0-943396-61-1}} (Richmond, VA: Willmann-Bell, 1998) 238. See [[Ellipse#Circumference]]. The formula by Ramanujan is accurate enough.{{cn|reason=according to whom?|date=November 2021}}</ref> Ignoring the influence of other [[Solar System]] bodies, '''Earth's orbit''', also called '''Earth's revolution''', is an [[ellipse]] with the Earth–Sun [[barycenter]] as one [[focus (geometry)|focus]] with a current [[orbital eccentricity|eccentricity]] of 0.0167. Since this value is close to zero, the center of the orbit is relatively close to the center of the Sun (relative to the size of the orbit).

As seen from Earth, the planet's orbital [[prograde motion]] makes the Sun [[diurnal motion|appear to move]] with respect to [[fixed stars|other stars]] at a rate of about 1° eastward per [[solar day]] (or a Sun or Moon diameter every 12 hours).<ref group=nb>Our planet takes about 365 days to orbit the Sun. A full orbit has 360°. That fact demonstrates that each day, Earth travels roughly 1° in its orbit. Thus, the Sun will appear to move  across the sky relative to the stars by that same amount.</ref> Earth's [[orbital speed]] averages {{convert|29.78|km/s|mi/s km/h mph|0|abbr=unit}}, which is fast enough to cover the planet's diameter in 7 minutes and [[lunar distance|the distance]] to the [[Moon]] in 4 hours.<ref name="earth_fact_sheet">{{cite web|last=Williams|first=David R.|date=2004-09-01|url=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html|title=Earth Fact Sheet|publisher=[[NASA]]|access-date=2007-03-17}}</ref> The point towards which the Earth in its solar orbit is directed at any given instant is known as the "apex of the Earth's way".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=1893PA......1..373S&db_key=AST&page_ind=0&data_type=GIF&type=SCREEN_VIEW&classic=YES|title=1893PA......1..373S Page 373|website=articles.adsabs.harvard.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tidjma.tn/en/astro/apex/#google_vignette|title=Apex|website=Tidjma.tn}}</ref> 

From a vantage point above the north pole of either the Sun or Earth, Earth would appear to revolve in a [[clockwise|counterclockwise]] direction around the Sun. From the same vantage point, both the Earth and the Sun would appear to rotate also in a counterclockwise direction.