NORFOLK, Va. — The earth’s journey around the Sun is not a perfect circle. Instead, our planet follows a slightly oval-shaped path called an ellipse, meaning our distance from the Sun changes ...

Every year in early January, Earth reaches the closest point in its orbit to the Sun, a moment astronomers call perihelion. We are slightly nearer to our star and receiving more solar energy than we ...

Earth reaches its closest point to the sun in its 2026 orbit on Jan. 3. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. The sun will appear ...

Earth is the planet we have the best opportunity to understand in detail—helping us see how other rocky planets behave, even ...