Is the earths orbit around the sun highly elliptical or almost circular?
Like all planets in our solar system, the Earth is in an elliptical orbit around our Sun. In Earth’s case, its orbit is nearly circular, so that the difference between Earth’s farthest point from the Sun and its closest point is very small. Earth’s orbit defines a two-dimensional plane which we call the ecliptic. It takes roughly 365 days for the Earth to go around the Sun once. This means that the Earth is rushing through space around the Sun at a rate of about 67,000 miles per hour! The time it takes for the Earth to go around the Sun one full time is what we call a year. The combined effect of the Earth’s orbital motion and the tilt of its rotation axis result in the seasons.
