The Earth goes around the sun in a highly elliptical orbit. The AU is not an exact distance, but the average distance between the Earth and the Sun. At the Earth’s closest distance to the Sun, the distance between the Sun is 91.4 million miles. The Earth is closest to the Sun in early January. At aphelion, when the Earth is furthest to the Sun, the distance between them is about 94.5 million miles. The Earth is furthest from the Sun in early July.