the shape of the earth's path around the sun
Earth's orbit The following diagram shows the relation between the line of solstice and the line of apsides of Earth's elliptical orbit. The orbital ellipse goes through each of the six Earth images, which are sequentially the perihelion (periapsis — nearest point to the Sun) on anywhere from January 2 to January 5, the point of March equinox on March 19, 20, or 21, the point of June solstice on June 20, 21, or 22, the aphelion (apoapsis — farthest point from the Sun) on anywhere from July 3 to July 5, the September equinox on September 22, 23, or 24, and the December solstice on December 21, 22, or 23.[7] The diagram shows an exaggerated shape of Earth's orbit; the actual orbit is less eccentric than pictured.
Equinox An equinox is commonly regarded as the moment the plane of Earth's equator passes through the center of the Sun's disk,[2] which occurs twice each year, around 20 March and 22-23 September. In other words, it is the point in which the center of the visible sun is directly over the equator. This simplified, but incorrect, understanding of Earth's orbital motion can lead to errors of up to 69 seconds from the actual time of equinox.