From Spaceweather.com:
EARTH AT APHELION: Earth's orbit around the sun is not a perfect circle, it's an ellipse, and on July 4th, Earth will be at the end of the ellipse farthest from the sun. Astronomers call this "aphelion." When we are at aphelion, the sun appears smaller in the sky (by 1.7%) and global solar heating is actually a little less (by 3.5%) than average.
To commemorate the aphelion of 2008, last week Greek amateur astronomer Anthony Ayiomamitis photographed the sun setting behind the Portara, entrance to the 2500-yr-old Temple of Apollo on the Greek island of Naxos:
"The white sun, virtually at aphelion, seemed to pass right through the Portara," says Ayiomamitis. "The presence of tourists in the foreground enriched the scene with the silhouettes they cast while marveling at the sunset." Even a little sun is a big beauty!
More images: from Chris Kotsiopoulos on Naxos island, Greece; from Konstantinos Christodoulopoulos on the Greek island of Naxos:
July 4 is Aphelion for Earth and Sunset at the Temple of Apollo