BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- This week's segment focuses on summer heat and Earth's proximity to the sun. It may feel like we're the closest to the sun this time of year because it's so hot, but this Friday we are actually at "Aphelion," which means we are at the point in our annual orbit when we are farthest from the sun! Extreme heat expected in Kern for Independence Day We all know that the Earth makes a complete revolution around the sun once every 365 days, following an orbit that is elliptical in shape. This means that the distance between the Earth and sun, which is 93 million miles on average, varies throughout the year. This week the Earth will be 3.4% farther from the Sun than it was at perihelion in early January or about 1.6 million miles farther away from the sun. The fact that the Earth is farthest from the Sun on July 5 indicates that the tilt of the Earth's axis plays a larger part in determining the four seasons than does distance from the Sun. Never miss a story: Make KGET.com your homepage In the Northern Hemisphere -- we are currently tilted toward the sun, giving us a more direct path of the Sun's energy. That means less sunlight gets scattered before reaching the ground, because it has less distance to travel through the atmosphere. The high sun angle produces long days -- giving us more time to heat up.