Perihelion
- “when is earth closest to the sun”
- “why is it winter when we're closest to the sun”
- “perihelion meaning”
- “what causes the seasons”
:: COMPARE ::
PerihelionvsAphelion
The short answer
The same orbit's opposite extreme, about 5 million km further out, reached in early July. The pair exists because Earth's orbit is an ellipse rather than a circle — and the eccentricity is small enough that tilt beats distance decisively.
Side by side
| Aspect | Perihelion | Aphelion |
|---|---|---|
| When | Early January | Early July |
| Distance | ~147.1m km | ~152.1m km |
| Sunlight | 7% more | 7% less |
| Northern season | Winter | Summer |
Which one you meant
Readers who land here meaning Perihelion rather than Aphelion are usually searching for phrases like “when is earth closest to the sun”, “why is it winter when we're closest to the sun”, “perihelion meaning”.
Where the confusion comes from
“Earth is closest to the Sun in summer — that's why it's hot.”
Exactly backwards for the Northern Hemisphere. Earth is at perihelion in January, during northern winter, and at aphelion in July. NASA puts it plainly: the seasons are caused mostly by the 23.5-degree tilt of Earth's spin axis, not by its elliptical orbit.
Read either one in full