Sun: When Is Earth Closest To The
Earth is closest to the Sun every year in early January. This point in its elliptical orbit is called perihelion. Key Dates and Details
2026 Date: Earth reached perihelion on January 3, 2026, at approximately 17:15 UTC.
Distance: At this point, Earth is roughly 147.1 million kilometers (91.4 million miles) from the Sun.
Variation: This is about 5 million kilometers closer than its farthest point (aphelion) in early July.
Orbital Speed: Earth travels faster at perihelion—approximately 30.3 km/s—compared to 29.3 km/s in July, making Northern Hemisphere winters slightly shorter than its summers. Why It's Still Cold in the North when is earth closest to the sun
What Causes the Seasons? | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for Kids
Earth reaches its closest point to the sun, an orbital milestone called perihelion, in early January each year. During this event, Earth is approximately 91.4 million miles (147.1 million kilometers) away from the sun. Core Details of Perihelion
It's Cold Outside, but Earth Is at Its Closest Approach to the Sun
Why Does This Matter?
Beyond winning a trivia night, understanding perihelion helps us appreciate the elegant complexity of our solar system. It’s a reminder that intuition isn’t always reality when you zoom out to a planetary scale. Earth is closest to the Sun every year in early January
It also has subtle effects:
- Perihelion makes Northern Hemisphere winters slightly milder than they would be otherwise (since we’re getting a little extra solar energy during our cold months).
- It makes Southern Hemisphere summers more intense (since they get that extra energy during their hot season).
- The date of perihelion actually drifts very slowly over thousands of years due to gravitational tugs from other planets (a cycle called apsidal precession). About 10,000 years from now, perihelion will occur during Northern Hemisphere summer instead.
2. Why Isn’t It the Hottest Time of Year?
This is the most common point of confusion. The key insight: Seasons are caused by Earth’s axial tilt, not by distance from the Sun.
- Northern Hemisphere winter (December–March) happens when the North Pole tilts away from the Sun, reducing solar intensity and shortening days—even though Earth is closer to the Sun.
- Southern Hemisphere summer occurs at the same time (January), and the slightly closer distance makes their summers a bit more intense than northern summers (by ~7% in solar radiation).
In fact, Earth is farthest from the Sun (aphelion) in early July, during northern summer and southern winter.
Does Perihelion Affect Our Weather?
You might wonder: if we are 3 million miles closer in January than in July, shouldn’t that make a difference? Fun fact: In the 17th century
It does, but the effect is subtle and often misunderstood.
Meet Perihelion: Earth’s Annual Close-Up
Earth doesn’t orbit the sun in a perfect circle. Its path is a slight ellipse (an oval). That means there is one point where our planet is closest to the sun and one point where it is farthest away.
- Perihelion (from Greek peri meaning "near" and helios meaning "sun"): The closest point. This happens approximately two weeks after the December solstice.
- Aphelion (from Greek apo meaning "away from"): The farthest point. This happens approximately two weeks after the June solstice.
In 2024, for example, Earth reached perihelion on January 2nd. At that moment, we were about 91.4 million miles (147.1 million km) from the sun. Compare that to aphelion in July, when we drift out to about 94.5 million miles (152.1 million km) away.
4. Why Does the Date Change Slightly?
The exact time shifts due to:
- Gravitational perturbations from Jupiter and Saturn, which subtly alter Earth’s orbit.
- The calendar’s leap year cycle (perihelion drifts ~1 day every 58 years if not for leap year adjustments, but leap years keep it roughly anchored in early Jan).
Over very long timescales (tens of thousands of years), the date of perihelion precesses due to the slow rotation of Earth’s elliptical orbit (apsidal precession). Right now, perihelion aligns with northern winter, but in ~10,000 years, it will align with northern summer, dramatically changing seasonality.
5. How Do We Know This? A Bit of History
- Kepler’s First Law (1609): Planets move in ellipses with the Sun at one focus. Earth’s orbital eccentricity is ~0.0167.
- Newton’s correction: Showed that the Sun-Earth barycenter (the balance point) is slightly offset due to Jupiter’s gravity.
- Modern measurement: Radar ranging to Venus, Mars, and spacecraft telemetry pinpoints distances to within a few meters.
Fun fact: In the 17th century, Tycho Brahe’s data allowed Kepler to deduce the elliptical orbit, but the precise timing of perihelion wasn’t nailed down until the late 1800s.