Perihelion Day refers to the day when the Earth is closest to the Sun in its elliptical orbit. This celestial event typically occurs between January 2 to January 4 each year. The exact Perihelion date can slightly vary each year. The Earth is closest to the Sun, which means at its perihelion, about two weeks after the December solstice and farthest from the Sun, or at its aphelion, about two weeks after the June solstice. Perihelion Day 2025 falls on January 4 when the Sun would look the largest as compared to the rest of the days of the year 2025. Quadrantid Meteor Shower 2025 Date: When and Where To Watch First Meteor Display of New Year in India? All Details Here. 

Perihelion Day 2025 Date and Time

  • Perihelion Day 2025 falls on Saturday, January 4.

  • In 2025, the Perihelion time is at 06:58 PM IST on Saturday, January 4. At this time, the distance of the Earth from the Sun will be 147,103,686 km

What Does Perihelion Mean?

Perihelion is derived from Greek words peri which means ‘near' and ‘helios’ which means ‘sun’. The celestial event takes place every year between January 2-4.  The perihelion is significant for several scientific, environmental, and astronomical reasons. The perihelion is the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid or comet that is nearest to the Sun. It is the opposite of aphelion, which is the point farthest from the sun. Earth comes closest to the sun every year around January 2-4 and is farthest from the sun every year around July 4. The difference in distance between Earth's nearest point to the sun in January and farthest point from the sun in July is 3.1 million miles (5 million kilometers). Major Planet Retrogrades To Watch in 2025: Mercury, Venus, Mars and Other Planetary Retrogrades, Their Months and Other Details of All the Cosmic Drama To Expect. 

The Earth is about 91.4 million miles, which is 147.1 million kilometers, from the sun in early January, in contrast to about 94.5 million miles, which is about 152 million kilometers, in early July. The Earth's elliptical orbit, as described by Johannes Kepler's laws of planetary motion, leads to variations in its distance from the Sun throughout the year. The Earth receives slightly more solar energy during perihelion, but the effect is negligible compared to the tilt-driven seasonal changes.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 03, 2025 12:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).