Earth at closest 'perihelion' point to Sun at 7:27pm Saturday: Planetary Society of India

Planetary Society of India (PSI) on Friday said that the Earth will reach its closest point to Sun on Saturday. PSI Director N Raghunandan Kumar in a release highlighted how Earth revolves around Sun in an elliptical orbit. He said that at one point of time during its journey around the sun, it will be at the closest point it can get (Perihelion) and at one point of time during the year it would be at the farthest point (Aphelion).

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PSI: 'Earth will be closest to Sun on Saturday'

According to the release by PSI Director, Earth on Saturday at 7:27 pm will reach the closest point to Sun in its annual elliptical orbit around Sun. At this point, Earth will be 0.9832571 AU (14,70,93,168 km) from Sun. PSI also informed that on July 6, 2021, at 3:46 am, Earth will be at Aphelion. At that time, Earth will be at 1.0167292 AU (15,21,00,523 km) from the Sun. 

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(Image credit: JPL.NASA.gov)

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While stating that people will not be able to notice or observe this celestial event, Kumar said that the Perihelion on January 2 will mark proximity of 50,07,355 km for the Earth to the Sun as compared to their positions on July 6. This event holds importance for students and the public as it explains that seasons on earth are independent of the distance of Earth to the Sun. Instead, the seasons rely on the planet's axial tilt during its journey around the sun. 

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