Summer’s not over yet, is it?

The Earth revolves around the sun, which is some 93 Million miles away, but oddly when we are at the most distant point from the sun is when it seems the hottest. However, it is really the tilt of the Earth that makes this possible, rather than the distance from the sun. This week we will reach the most distant point from the sun, called Aphelion, on July 4th. We are also at the halfway point in our orbit around the sun and as we move past the halfway point, we can see the beginnings of the coming Autumn. You may start to notice that we are losing daylight on both ends of the day. Also, there are many things to look for in the night sky this week including tricky Mercury, which you can catch just after sunset between 9 and 9:30 pm. That’s the golden window of opportunity to see this elusive planet. But if this proves too daunting, by 10 pm you have an array of constellations to choose from. All this and more on this week’s Sky Talk.[audio: st20120702.mp3]