Derived from the Greek words peri (near) and helios (sun), this occurs when Earth is roughly 147 million kilometres (91.4 million miles) from the sun. This typically happens between January 2nd and January 5th .
Seasons are caused by Earth's axial tilt (about 23.5°), not by distance from the Sun. month when earth is closest to the sun
Because Earth moves faster at perihelion, winter in the Northern Hemisphere is about five days shorter than summer. Derived from the Greek words peri (near) and
The ~3% difference in distance has only a small effect on global average temperatures (slightly milder winters in the north, slightly milder summers in the south), but it is by the tilt's effect on sunlight angle and day length. Because Earth moves faster at perihelion, winter in
According to Kepler’s Second Law of Planetary Motion, planets move faster when they are closer to their star. Consequently, Earth travels about 1 kilometre per second faster in January than in July.
The sun appears about 3% larger in the sky, and the sunlight reaching Earth is approximately 7% more intense than at its farthest point.