Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Welcome to Perihelion

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for January 4, 2025 is “Welcome to Perihelion,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Peter Ward ( Barden Ridge Observatory )). The original explanation runs about 179 words.

Welcome to Perihelion
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Peter Ward ( Barden Ridge Observatory ) Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Earth’s orbit around the Sun is not a circle, it’s an ellipse. The point along its elliptical orbit where our fair planet is closest to the Sun is called perihelion.”

— APOD editors, January 4, 2025

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
January 4, 2025
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Peter Ward ( Barden Ridge Observatory )
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 179 words

All of January 2025 → · 2025 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The Sun

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: January 4 in other years

On Amazon

Popular picks for space fans

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.