OnJanuary 2, 2021, Earth is closer to the sun in its elliptical orbit than on any other day of the year, marking an annual event known as perihelion. ... The distance varies by about 3 million miles over the course of the year — nearly 13 times the distance from Earth to the moon...
Perihelion, or when the earth is closest to the sun remains elusive to most people. It is a basic fact, but not common knowledge. Not even a casual factoid on the nightly weather report. There is no holiday that commemorates that day. .
As the closest planet to the sun, Mercury’s perihelion (the point along its orbit that it’s closest to the sun) is predicted to follow a slightly different direction over time. Under Newton’s predictions, gravitational forces in the solar system should advance Mercury's precession ( change...
We greet the first day of the new season with the spring equinox, but what is it, exactly? And why does the first day of spring change? We explain.