So close, yet so far

We've reached perihelion! Two weeks after the winter solstice the Earth's orbit is closer to the sun than on any other time of year – a result of the Earth’s elliptical orbit. You may think, 'if we’re so close to the sun, why can’t I feel the heat?' Well, that's because we're only receiving about 7% more solar energy than normal, which doesn’t really have much impact on the weather.
© JSC/NASA