Perihelion and Aphelion are the nearest and farthest points respectively of an object’s orbit around the Sun. The following table shows the distances of Perihelion and Aphelion of solar system planets.
| Distance of Perihelion (×106 km) | Distance of Aphelion (×106 km) | |
| Mercury | 46 | 69.82 |
| Venus | 107.48 | 108.94 |
| Earth | 147.09 | 152.1 |
| Mars | 206.62 | 249.23 |
| Jupiter | 740.52 | 816.62 |
| Saturn | 1352.55 | 1514.5 |
| Uranus | 2741.3 | 3003.62 |
| Neptune | 4444.45 | 4545.67 |
Earth reaches perihelion in the first week of January and aphelion in the first week of July.
Did you know: The winter in the Northern hemisphere occurs when the Earth is closer to the Sun in its orbit.
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The perihelion’s (in green) all appear to fall within a 180-degree arc. What direction would that be?