Perihelion: Quick Facts

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Diagram showing Earth's elliptical orbit around the Sun with labeled points for aphelion, perihelion, solstices, and equinoxes, and distances from the Sun at aphelion and perihelion.

A diagram of a planet's elliptical orbit around the Sun, labeled with key points: A for aphelion, B for perihelion, C for the center, S for the Sun, P for the planet, V for true anomaly, and E for eccentric anomaly, with lines and angles illustrating their relationships.

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Topics

orbital element pericentre Apse Phase Retrograde motion Anomaly Conjunction Constant of aberration Synodic period Aphelion Opposition Sidereal period Perturbation