Mercury at perihelion
The orbit of Mercury around the sun is not perfectly circular. As a result, the distance of Mercury from the sun changes over time.
Mercury reaches perihelion, meaning it reaches the closest point to the sun in its elliptical orbit. Here, perihelion comes from two words: peri, meaning near, and helios, meaning sun, more specifically the god of the sun in Greek mythology.
The average distance of Mercury from the sun is 57,909,000 km, and at perihelion, it is 46,000,000 km, according to NASA.
Mercury takes about 88 days to orbit the sun once. So it reaches perihelion every 88 days in its orbit.
When is the next perihelion of Mercury in 2024?
Mercury will reach its next perihelion on Friday, December 6, 2024, at 14:00 UTC (9 a.m. EST), according to NASA.
Distance from the sun: During the perihelion, the distance of Mercury from the sun will be 0.30761 A.U. or 46,017,801 km.
Distance from the earth: During the perihelion, the distance of Mercury from the earth will be 0.67836 A.U. or 101,481,212 km.
Brightness: During the perihelion, Mercury will shine with a magnitude of +11.9 in our sky.
Disk size: During the perihelion, the angular diameter of Mercury will be 9.9 arcseconds.
Phase of Mercury: During the perihelion, Mercury will be in its new phase and 0% illuminated.
Upcoming dates of perihelion of Mercury
| Date | Time (UTC) | Distance from the sun (A.U.) |
|---|---|---|
| December 6, 2024 | 14:00 | 0.30761 |
| March 4, 2025 | 14:00 | 0.30760 |
| May 31, 2025 | 13:00 | 0.30758 |
| August 27, 2025 | 12:00 | 0.30757 |
Related article: What is aphelion of Mercury and when is the next one?
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