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In fact, the angle between the axis of the earth and the ecliptic plane is about 23.5 degrees. If you look in the next animated image, you can see that while earth moves in an orbit around the sun in the ecliptic plane, it rotates around its own axis under that angle of 23.5 degrees all the while.
Earth's orbit around the Sun changes. Earth is farthest from the Sun on its orbit when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Changing Elliptical Orbit. Earth orbits the Sun in an elliptical path, which means that there is 1 point of the path when the Sun is at its closest to the Earth and 1 point when it is furthest away. Orbit Changes Shape The shape of this path varies due to gravitational influences of other planetary objects, particularly the Moon.