Because our orbit is not a perfect circle, the distance between Earth and the Sun varies throughout the year. The opposite of perihelion is , which is when the Earth is farthest from the Sun, occurring in early July. Why is it Cold in January If We Are Closest?

You might notice that perihelion doesn't land on the exact same day every year. This is due to the complexities of orbital mechanics:

"Believe it or not," Elias said, stepping back from the eyepiece and gesturing for her to look, "at this very moment, the Earth is closer to the Sun than it will be at any other point this year."

According to Kepler’s First Law of Planetary Motion, the sun sits at one of the two foci of this ellipse. Because the sun is off-center, the Earth naturally moves closer to it and farther away from it as it completes its 365.25-day journey.

So, if you are searching for the "closest to the sun link," remember the link to January. It is a fixed astronomical event that happens shortly after the New Year.

It is a common misconception that Earth is closest to the Sun during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. However, the reality of our planet's orbit is a bit more counter-intuitive.

"Look for yourself," Elias said.

If you are reading this, you are likely under a common misconception that many people hold. When asked, "During which month is the Earth closest to the sun?" most people instinctively guess June, July, or August. After all, those are the warm, summer months in the Northern Hemisphere. We assume that heat equals proximity.

When you’re shivering in the middle of winter, the last thing you’d probably guess is that you are physically closer to the Sun than at any other time of year. It feels like a cosmic prank, but it’s a fundamental fact of our orbit.

The following table provides a quick comparison of these two key orbital points:

It may seem counterintuitive that the Earth is closest to the Sun in January, as one might expect it to be closest during the summer months when the weather is warmest. However, the Earth's orbit is not related to the seasons, which are caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis (about 23.5 degrees) relative to its orbital plane around the Sun.

A common misconception is that seasons are caused by Earth’s distance from the sun. If that were true, the entire planet would experience summer in January.

If you’d like, I can:

explains why distance does not cause seasons, focusing instead on the impact of Earth's axial tilt. National Weather Service