On January 4, the Earth approached its closest distance to the Sun this year, during a phenomenon called perihelion.. This distance varies from year to year, in 2023 it was 147 million kilometers, according to Live Science..

This is almost three million kilometers closer than at aphelion - the point of maximum distance - which is expected on July 6..

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The publication notes that our star decided to make this rapprochement even brighter.. So, on January 4-5, a coronal mass ejection (CME) will crash into the atmosphere of our planet, which separated from our star.

This collision should cause a weak magnetic storm on Earth.. It can briefly knock out power grids, cause radio outages, and cause aurora borealis much farther south than usual..

However, this particular magnetic storm is not expected to cause any long-term effects..

What is perihelion.

The Earth's orbit around the Sun is not perfectly circular, but elliptical. This means that the planet periodically approaches and moves away from the star..

For centuries, perihelion occurs within a few days of the winter solstice, the official day for the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, when the North Pole is at its furthest from the Sun and the South Pole is closest to it..

But it's just a coincidence. The actual date of perihelion is always shifting, changing by about two days every century due to small features of our planet's orbit.. In 1246, perihelion and winter solstice actually fell on the same day.. In 6430, perihelion is expected to coincide perfectly with the vernal equinox on March 20.

Recall that recently there were 16 flares on the Sun in two days.. The spot AR3165 became their source.