Perihelion is the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet where it is closest to the Sun. At this point, the celestial body travels at its maximum orbital velocity due to the gravitational pull of the Sun.
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The Earth reaches perihelion around January 3rd each year.
Perihelion and aphelion describe points in an elliptical orbit; perihelion being the closest and aphelion being the farthest from the Sun.
Kepler's Second Law (the Law of Equal Areas) states that a planet moves faster at perihelion than at any other point in its orbit.
The term 'perihelion' comes from Greek words 'peri,' meaning near, and 'Helios,' meaning Sun.
The difference between Earth's perihelion and aphelion distances from the Sun is about 5 million kilometers.