July 10, 2022
Today Mercury reaches its closest point to the Sun, its perihelion. Mercury orbits the Sun once every 88 days and has a more elliptical orbit than the other planets in our Solar System. At its closest approach, Mercury is approximately 28.5 million miles (45.9 million km) from the Sun. However, at its furthest – called aphelion – Mercury is approximately 43.4 million miles (69.8 million km) from the Sun.
Mercury reaches its perihelion today. However, Mercury’s orbit advances around the Sun at approximately 2° per century. This change can be explained by the gravitational pull of the other planets and the effects of general relativity. The changes in orbit shown in this image are exaggerated for visual effect. Image credit: Hans Uy