Thread | Brutkey

Tomorrow, January 3, 2026, at 12:15 p.m. EST (1715 UTC), Earth will reach perihelion, its shortest distance from the Sun along its elliptical orbit.

Earth will be 5 million km closer to the Sun compared to that at aphelion in early July. It will also be traveling faster by 3,600 km/h compared to its speed at aphelion.

The effect on temperature on Earth is minor due to this effect compared that of Earth's axial tilt, but it will heighten tides.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_orbit
1/n

Exaggerated illustration of Earth's elliptical orbit around the Sun, marking that the orbital extreme points (apoapsis and periapsis) are not the same as the four seasonal extreme points (equinox and solstice).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_orbit#/media/File:Seasons1.svg

AkaSci 🛰

️
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org

The first full moon of 2026 (aka the Wolf Moon), tonight and tomorrow night, promises to be a super-bright supermoon 🌕

The moon will be near perigee in its orbit around Earth, making it ~30% brighter and ~14% larger than at its farthest point (apogee).

Earth's perihelion will make the moon shine brighter by another ~6.5% compared to July.

Moon perigee: 1 Jan, 21:43 UTC
Full moon: 3 Jan, 10:03 UTC
Earth perihelion: 3 Jan, 17:15 UTC

Happy viewing 🌝
https://earthsky.org/earth/rare-alignment-of-earth-moon-and-sun-january-1-2-3-2026/
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AkaSci 🛰

️
@AkaSci@fosstodon.org

In the northern hemisphere, around midnight, the Wolf Moon will be high in the sky, you know why.
🌝
The moon's perigee and the earth's perihelion on the Sun's side, will result in heightened King Tide.
3/n

My graphic illustrating the elevation of the moon at midnight close to the solstices.

In winter, it is high in the sky in the northern hemisphere, due to the axial tilt of earth.

rag. Gustavino Bevilacqua
@GustavinoBevilacqua@mastodon.cisti.org

@AkaSci@fosstodon.org

"Perigeo" (perigee) was also the name of an Italian progressive rock group of the late '70.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perigeo