The Earth as seen from the International Space Station

© JSC/NAS

So close, yet so far. Earth at Perihelion

We've reached perihelion! Two weeks after winter solstice the Earth's orbit is closer to the sun than on any other time of year—a result of the Earth’s elliptical orbit. You may think, 'if we’re so close to the sun, why can’t I feel the heat?' Well, that's because we're only receiving about 7% more solar energy than normal, which doesn’t really have much impact on the weather.