What is perihelion of Mercury and when is the next one?

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?

Position of Mercury during its perihelion on December 6, 2024
Position of Mercury during its perihelion on December 6, 2024. (Image credit: NASA’s Eyes)

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

DateTime (UTC)Distance from the sun (A.U.)
December 6, 202414:000.30761
March 4, 202514:000.30760
May 31, 202513:000.30758
August 27, 202512:000.30757
Related article: What is aphelion of Mercury and when is the next one? 

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Ashim

Ashim Chandra Sarkar founded Space & Telescope in 2022. He holds a M.Sc. in physics and has five years of research experience in optical astronomy. His passion for astronomy inspired him to open this website. He is responsible for the editorial vision of spaceandtelescope.com.

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