Venus at perihelion in May 2026
When it occurs: Venus will reach perihelion—the closest point to the sun in its elliptical orbit—on May 15, 2026, at 04:00 UTC (12:00 a.m. EDT).
Meaning: The word perihelion comes from Ancient Greek, where peri means “near” and helios means “sun,” more specifically the sun god in Greek mythology.
Distance from the sun: Venus has the least elliptical orbit of all the planets in our solar system, with an eccentricity of only 0.007. As a result, its distance from the sun varies slightly between its aphelion and perihelion.
At perihelion on May 15, 2026, Venus will be 0.71842 AU (about 107.5 million km) from the sun. The average distance between the sun and Venus is about 0.723 AU or 108.2 million km.
Distance from Earth: At perihelion on May 15, 2026, Venus will be 1.36150 AU (about 203.7 million km) from Earth.
Speed at perihelion: According to Kepler’s second law of planetary motion, planets travel faster when they are closer to the sun (near perihelion).
At perihelion, Venus travels at its fastest speed—about 35.26 km/s, or 127,000 km/h.
How often does Venus reach perihelion?
Venus takes about 225 days to orbit the sun, so it reaches perihelion once every 225 days. This interval is called Venus’s sidereal period.
Venus at perihelion in 2026
Here are the dates of perihelion of Venus in 2026:
| Date of perihelion | Distance from the sun (AU) |
|---|---|
| May 15, 2026 | 0.71842 |
| December 25, 2026 | 0.71846 |
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