Earth will be closest to Sun today this year

The earth will be closest (perihelion) it can get to Sun on Sunday. It will be at the closest point in its elliptical orbit at 0.983 astronomical unit (approx 147 million km) from the Sun.

It will be farthest from the Sun on July 6 -- when it will be at aphelion at 1.017 astronomical unit (approx 152 million km) from the Sun.

The annual event of Quadrantids Meteor Shower is presently underway. It will be visible till January 12 and will peak on January 4 with at least 120 meteors per hour. The number of meteors visible may vary from 60 - 120. After 2:30 am, if one looks at the area between East and north-east directions, one can see bright streaks of light zipping across the sky.

After 2:30 am, if one looks at the area between East and north-east directions, one can see bright streaks of light zipping across the sky. Telescopes are not required to see this event.

For a major part of 2015, one can see Venus shining like bright beckon in the western sky. On February 6, Earth and Jupiter will be opposite each other as well.

"These days, anyone looking east after 9:30 pm can spot Jupiter. One can see the brightness increasing as the distance between planets is decreasing day by day. Saturn these days can be found in early morning skies, two hours before sunrise in east direction," Raghunandan Kumar, director, Planetary Society, India, said.