Every year in early January, Earth reaches the closest point in its orbit to the Sun, a moment astronomers call perihelion.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. The sun shines above the Earth’s horizon. Perihelion, the point when Earth is closest to the Sun, occurs annually in early January ...

Have you ever wondered how long it takes for each planet to orbit the Sun? From Mercury’s blazing 88-day year to Neptune’s astonishing 165-year journey, every planet moves at a completely different ...

Here's how the astronomical phenomenon influences our planet—from the length of our seasons to the way Earth moves through ...