Understanding the configuration of space can become a very complicated task that requires very high levels of abstraction. This is because we have to translate the movements we see from the terrestrial perspective to what is really happening out there. The Sun moves across the sky, however, it is the Earth that moves and although it seems like an unchanged cycle, in reality there are variations in the distance between the two, the question is; Is the Earth moving away from or toward the Sun?
An increasing distance
The shortest answer is that the Earth is moving away from the Sun. According to NASA, the average distance between the Sun and our planet is 150 million kilometers. However, other factors come into play, such as the fact that the Earth’s orbit is not perfectly circular, but rather moves with an elliptical path. This means that it is not always at the same distance from the Sun, it ranges between 147.1 million and 152.1 million kilometers depending on the position.
Regardless of the previous data that imply a variation in distances due to the movements of the Earth, the extension between both objects is increasing little by little.
This growth in distance has two apparent causes. On the one hand we have that although the Sun is a large wild star that burns all the time, it is losing mass periodically. And the second cause has to do with the same forces that cause tides on Earth, although the latter has a minor influence on the phenomenon.
The Sun is dying
The Sun is a huge star that is constantly exploding nuclear fusion reactions and that is precisely what makes it so bright. But the energy for these reactions has to come from somewhere and comes precisely from the mass of the star, which acts through the equation described by Albert Eistein: E=mc^2.
According to researchers’ models, the Sun will lose about 0.1% of its total mass before it begins to enter its death throes and eventually . And although it seems like an insignificant number, it is actually a lot of mass that is comparable to the total mass of Jupiter.
Then another issue comes into play, also well described by the genius Einstein; The lower the mass, the lower the gravity. Because the Sun is losing some of its mass, the gravitational field in which the Earth is trapped around the star is weakening. Therefore we are gradually moving away from our host star, at a rate of about 6 centimeters per year.
Although there is nothing to worry about, because when it comes to space issues, everything has such a great magnitude that it is likely that we will not live long enough to see the changes. Even if there is a distance from the Earth to the Sun, issues such as the climate will present variations that are almost imperceptible to humanity.