Freaky Cool Astronomy: Earth Just Reached Its Highest Speed of Year and Closest to Sun

Published 01/07/26 at 7:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Manzanita, Oregon) – Not that you could be able to tell, but Earth at this moment is going its zippiest that it will all year. And believe it or not, even though it's winter here, we are at our closest to the sun as well.

Space, the solar system and the world we're on can make for some real surprises – even weirdly so.

To be more exact, we just passed the perihelion – or the closest we get to the sun.

Even as you look at that weak winter orb while goofing around beaches of the Oregon coast or Washington coast, it's closer than you probably thought.

Jim Todd, astronomy expert at Portland's OMSI, told Oregon Coast Beach Connection these odd little nuggets about our star (called Sol, actually) and our relationship to it.

“On January 3, 2026, at approximately 12:15 PM EST (17:15 UTC), Earth reached perihelion, the point in its elliptical orbit where it is closest to the Sun,” Todd said.

This, in turn, dictates our speed as the planet moves in orbit.

“Because Earth is at its closest point (approx. 91.4 million miles), the Sun's gravitational pull is strongest, accelerating the planet to its maximum orbital velocity of roughly 67,700 mph (30.3 km/s),” Todd said.

This happens because Earth's orbit is an ellipse – not an actual circle. So that means there is always going to be a closest point and a farthest point (as NASA has pointed out).

Astronomy News, Updates from Oregon Coast, Washington Coast Astronomy from a Pacific Northwest Perspective: stargazing, space science, meteors, aurora borealis, interstellar phenomena, surprises in the skies

“Earth is about 3 million miles (5 million km) closer to the Sun today than it will be at its farthest point (aphelion) on July 6, 2026,” Todd said.

We will be some 94 million miles away from the sun in July.

We all know seasons come from the tilt of the Earth. Yet here comes a mammoth surprise for some: us being closer or farther away from the sun has nothing to do with seasons. NASA said it's only a coincidence that the solstice happens so close to this turn in our seasons.

Todd said this speed also decides how long winter lasts up here.

“Because Earth moves faster during this period, it covers the distance between the December solstice and the March equinox more quickly,” Todd said. “This makes the Northern Hemisphere's winter (and Southern Hemisphere's summer) the shortest season, lasting just under 89 days.”

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