Earth is at its closest point to the sun today

NASA recently talked a little bit about something going on between Earth and the Sun today, January 2, 2021. Today marks Earth’s perihelion, the closest point it reaches to the Sun in our planet’s elliptical orbit around our host star. NASA says the sun will not appear significantly larger in the sky.

Although it does not appear to be bigger, it will be 3% larger in the sky. NASA Also remind people not to look at the sun, this is too dangerous for your eyes. The only way to see the sun is to use goggles or goggles that are clearly designed to look at the sun.

NASA also took the time to talk about some other exciting things happening in the sky during January. On January 20, Uranus will be much easier to locate because it is located between the moon and Mars. Usually Uranus is so far away that we cannot see it with the naked eye, and it is difficult to locate it without a computer-guided telescope. Although it is easy to locate it between the moon and Mars, you probably wouldn’t be able to see it without a telescope.

During the last two weeks of January, amateur astronomers will find Mercury more easily than usual. To see Mercury, amateur astronomers will need a clear view of the west. Mercury will appear only a few degrees above the horizon.

Another interesting piece of information about Earth’s current nadir is that after six months, the Earth will reach apogee. The apogee is the point at which the Earth is farthest from the sun. On that day, sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface will be 6.7 percent less intense than normal.