A cosmic reminder that sometimes the closest thing isn’t what warms you most.
If you guessed June, July, or August—when the Northern Hemisphere basks in heat and long days—you’d be wrong. Surprisingly, Earth makes its closest approach to the Sun in . what month is earth closest to the sun
This point in our orbit is called (from the Greek peri meaning “near” and helios meaning “sun”). In 2024, for example, perihelion occurred on January 3rd. On that day, Earth is about 91.4 million miles (147.1 million km) from the Sun—roughly 3 million miles closer than at its farthest point, or aphelion , which happens in early July. A cosmic reminder that sometimes the closest thing
So why is January cold? The answer is . Earth’s 23.5-degree tilt means that in January, the Northern Hemisphere is leaning away from the Sun, so sunlight hits at a lower, more glancing angle. That spreads the same amount of solar energy over a larger area, creating winter. Meanwhile, the Southern Hemisphere, tilted toward the Sun, enjoys summer—even though the entire planet is actually closer to our star. This point in our orbit is called (from
Here’s a short, informative piece on the topic:
In short: , but seasons depend on tilt, not distance.