Mercury will reach aphelion—the farthest point from the sun in its elliptical orbit—on January 6, 2026, at 11:00 UTC, when it will be approximately 69.8 million km away from the sun.
Mercury at aphelion 2026
Meaning: The word aphelion comes from Ancient Greek, where apo means “away from” and helios means “sun,” more specifically the sun god in Greek mythology.
When it occurs: Mercury will reach aphelion—the farthest point from the sun in its elliptical orbit—on January 6, 2026, at 11:00 UTC (6:00 a.m. EST).
Distance at aphelion: Mercury’s distance from the sun varies significantly due to its highly elliptical orbit.
At aphelion on January 6, 2026, Mercury will be 0.46667 AU (about 69.8 million km) away from the sun. The average distance between the sun and Mercury is about 0.387 AU or 57.9 million km.
Speed at aphelion: According to Kepler’s second law of planetary motion, planets move slower when they are farther away from the sun.
At aphelion, Mercury moves at its slowest speed—about 38.9 km/s, or 140,000 km/h.
Mercury’s aphelion and seasons: Mercury doesn’t have seasons like Earth because its axial tilt is almost zero (about 0.01°). Instead, it experiences so-called “thermal seasons” due to its highly elliptical orbit.
Mercury gets colder when it reaches aphelion because its aphelion is about 1.5 times farther from the sun than its perihelion.
How often does Mercury reach aphelion?
Mercury takes about 88 days to orbit the sun, so it reaches aphelion once every 88 days. This interval is called Mercury’s sidereal period.
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