10 Science Myths You Probably Still Believe

8. The Earth Is Closer To The Sun During Summer*

*In the northern hemisphere.

Apologies to the southerners out there, this is a very northern-centric misconception.

It seems to make logical sense to us that the hottest days of the year would coincide with the closest point in the Earth's elliptical orbit (or the perihelion if you want to get fancy), but in reality, we are at our cosiest with our solar neighbour in January.

In actual fact, the reason why it is hotter during the northern summer months is to do with the Earth's tilt on its axis. During this time, the Earth is tilted towards the sun, causing its rays to hit us more directly, whereas during the winter months, the rays hit us at a more oblique angle, making it cooler.

This is, of course, all reversed in the southern hemisphere when the hottest months do indeed coincide with the perihelion.