Definition of perihelion Perihelion
per•i•he•li•on
We found 8 definitions of perihelion from 8 different sources.
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What does perihelion mean?
WordNet
NounPlural: perihelions |
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| perihelion - periapsis in solar orbit; the point in the orbit of a planet or comet where it is nearest to the sun | ||
| periapsis, point of periapsis (astronomy) the point in an orbit closest to the body being orbited | ||
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Wiktionary 
Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘
- perihelion (n.)
Alt. of Perihelium
OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω
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perihelion
The point in the elliptical orbit of a planet or comet etc where it is nearest to the sun.
Chambers DictionaryChamber's 20th Century Dictionary 📕
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perihelion
per-i-hē′li-on, n. the point of the orbit of a planet or a comet at which it is nearest to the sun—opp. to Aphelion.—Also Perihē′lium. [Gr. peri, near, hēlios, the sun.]
Sailor's Word-BookThe Sailor's Word-Book ⛵
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perihelion
That point in the orbit of a planet or comet which is nearest to the sun.
Wikipedia 
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The perihelion is the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid or comet where it is nearest to the sun.
The word perihelion stems from the Greek words "peri" (meaning "near") and "helios" (meaning "sun").
All planets, comets and asteroids in our solar system have elliptical (non-circular) orbits. Thus, they all have a closest and a farthest point from the sun: a perihelion and an aphelion.
Earth comes closest to the sun every year in December. It is farthest from the sun every year in June. The difference in distance between Earth's nearest point to the sun in January and farthest point from the sun in July is not very great. Earth is about 146 million kilometers from the sun in early January, in contrast to about 150 million kilometers in early July.
When Earth is closest to the sun, it is winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern hemisphere. Thus it is possible to see that Earth's distance from the sun does not cause the season to change. Instead, Earth's seasons come and go because Earth does not orbit exactly upright with respect to the plane of our world’s orbit around the sun. Earth's axis is tilted to that plane by 23-and-a-half degrees. The Earth's tilted axis itself rotates about the notional axis orthogonal (perpendicular) to the orbital plane, almost precisely once per year. Winter falls on that part of the globe where sunlight strikes least directly. Summer falls on that part of the globe where sunlight strikes most directly.
Part of speech
🔤- perihelion, noun, singular of perihelia / perihelions.
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