Every year in early January, Earth reaches the closest point in its orbit to the Sun, a moment astronomers call perihelion.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. The sun shines above the Earth’s horizon. Perihelion, the point when Earth is closest to the Sun, occurs annually in early January ...

Earth’s orbit around the Sun isn’t a perfect circle—it’s slightly elliptical. Each year, around July 2 or 3, Earth reaches its farthest point from the Sun, known as aphelion. Around January 2 or 3, ...

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile James is a ...

Perihelion is when a planet or celestial body reaches its closest point to the Sun in its orbit.

It sounds strange at first because it’s actually the hottest time of the year. One would think it’s actually the opposite. This little marvel is due to the fact that the Earth’s orbit around the sun ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. An award-winning reporter writing about stargazing and the night sky. Earth is today at aphelion, the point in its orbit at which ...

Alfredo has a PhD in Astrophysics and a Master's in Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces from Imperial College London. Alfredo has a PhD in Astrophysics and a Master's in Quantum Fields and ...

Here's how the astronomical phenomenon influences our planet—from the length of our seasons to the way Earth moves through ...