Earth will reach perihelion—the closest point to the sun in its elliptical orbit—on January 3, 2026, at 17:16 UTC, when it will be approximately 147.1 million km away from the sun.
Earth at perihelion 2026
Meaning: The word perihelion comes from Ancient Greek, where peri means “near” and helios means “sun.”
When it occurs: Earth will reach perihelion—the closest point to the sun in its elliptical orbit—on January 3, 2026, at 17:16 UTC (12:16 p.m. EST).
Perihelion distance: At perihelion in 2026, Earth will be 0.98330 AU (about 147.1 million km) away from the sun. The average distance between the sun and Earth is 1 AU (about 149.6 million km), so we are roughly 2.5 million km closer to the sun at perihelion in 2026.
Earth’s perihelion and December solstice: Earth reaches perihelion every year in early January, only about two weeks after the December solstice. Are the two astronomical events related? No, it is simply a coincidence.
The December solstice occurs when the sun reaches its southernmost point in the sky. It is related to Earth’s axial tilt. At the December solstice, Earth’s Southern Hemisphere is tilted most toward the sun, marking the beginning of summer in the southern half of the globe. Meanwhile, Earth’s Northern Hemisphere is tilted most away from the sun, and it marks the beginning of winter in the northern half of the globe.
Earth’s perihelion and the length of the seasons: Although Earth’s perihelion is not responsible for the seasons, it does affect the length of the seasons.
According to Kepler’s second law of planetary motion, planets move faster when they are closer to the sun. Therefore, every year in early January, when Earth reaches perihelion, it moves faster than at any other time of the year.
Because perihelion occurs during Northern Hemisphere winter, the season is almost five days shorter than Northern Hemisphere summer, when Earth moves more slowly in its orbit.
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