STRANGE BUT TRUE: Sweltering populations in the American west might find this hard to believe: Earth is extra-far from the sun today. On July 7th, Earth passes through a point in its orbit called aphelion, which is 5 million km farther from the sun than the opposite point in January (perihelion). This has many consequences. For one thing, the sun looks a few percent smaller than usual:

Photo credit: Anthony Ayiomamitis of Athens, Greece.

Also, sunlight falling on Earth is 7% less intense averaged over the globe. Yet the temperature in Las Vegas remains 114 degrees. What's going on? Click here for the answer.

more images: from John Stetson of Falmouth, Maine; from Gema Araujo of Merida, Spain.