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March equinox.
• Latest sunrises also in early January for mid-northern latitudes
• In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer season (June solstice to September equi

1) planet at aphelion, 2) planet at perihelion, 3) the sun. Image Credit: Pearson Scott Foresman

nox) lasts nearly 5 days longer than our winter season. And, of course, the corresponding seasons in the Southern Hemisphere are opposite. Southern Hemisphere winter is nearly 5 days longer than Southern Hemisphere summer.
• It's all due to the shape of Earth's orbit. The shape is an ellipse, like a circle someone sat down on and squashed. The elliptical shape of Earth's orbit causes the variation in the length of the seasons - and brings our closest point to the sun, in 2013 on January 2, at 5:00 Universal Time.