During which month is Earth closest to the sun?
January
May
July
August
Earth is actually closest to the sun during the month of January. This may seem counterintuitive, as it’s often mistakenly believed that Earth’s proximity to the sun is responsible for a change in seasons. Earth’s closest point to the sun is called perihelion, and occurs in early January when Earth is approximately 91 million miles from the sun. Conversely, aphelion, when Earth is farthest from the sun, occurs in July, when the distance between Earth and the sun is about 94.5 million miles. This phenomenon can be explained by understanding that Earth’s orbit around the sun is not a perfect circle but instead an ellipse.
The correct answer is January.