Earth reached its closest point at 1:52 a.m. ET Tuesday in a configuration known as perihelion. The distance is about 3.1 million miles closer to 3% closer than when it’s at the farther distance in July. That farther distance day is called the Aphelion which is on July 4th, 2022 at 3:10 a.m. ET.
Happy perihelion 2022! Earth reaches its closest point to the sun for the year | Space:
The sun is just a little bit closer in Earth’s sky right now.
Earth is at its closest to the sun Tuesday (Jan. 4) in its 365.25-day journey. This milestone, called perihelion, coincidentally happens near the start of the Gregorian calendar year observed by much of the world, including in North America.
The exact moment of perihelion this year occurred at 1:52 a.m. EST (0652 GMT), according to EarthSky. Earth was about 3 million miles (5 million kilometers) closer to the sun than it is at aphelion, when it is farthest from the sun, which takes place in early July. That variation is relatively small compared to Earth’s average distance from the sun of 92,955,807 miles (149,597,870 km).
