How far is Earth from the Sun?

Today, 10 October 2026, Earth is 149,405,575 km from the Sun — 0.149 billion kilometres, or 0.999 astronomical units. That figure changes constantly: the orbit is an ellipse, so Earth is closer at one end than the other.

What is Earth's average distance from the Sun?

1.000 AU — 0.150 billion km. This is the semi-major axis, which is the number most references quote as "the" distance. It is an average, and Earth is actually at it only twice per orbit.

What are Earth's closest and furthest distances?

Closest (perihelion) 0.983 AU or 0.147 billion km, next on 3 January 2027. Furthest (aphelion) 1.017 AU or 0.152 billion km, next on 5 July 2027. The difference between them is 4,996,217 km.

How long does sunlight take to reach Earth?

8.3 minutes at today's distance. Light from the Sun reaches Earth in about 8 minutes 20 seconds, so that is the figure everyone knows.

Earth

Earth's distance from the Sun

Not the average everyone quotes — the figure for today, and the two extremes it swings between.

Right now

0.149 billion km

149,405,575 km · 0.999 AU · sunlight takes 8.3 minutes to get there

Computed 10 October 2026 and rebuilt through the day.

Closest to the Sun: 0.983 AU; 0.147 bn km · 3 January 2027
Furthest from the Sun: 1.017 AU; 0.152 bn km · 5 July 2027
Average: 1.000 AU; the figure most tables give
Orbital speed: 29.84 km/s; right now, from the ephemeris

Why there is no single answer

Earth’s orbit is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus rather than at the centre, so the distance changes continuously. Over one orbit it swings by 4,996,217 km — aphelion is 1.03 times further out than perihelion. At 0.0167 its orbit is very nearly a circle — draw it to scale and the difference from one would be thinner than the line.

That is why the number in an encyclopedia and the number here differ. Theirs is the semi-major axis, an average over the whole orbit; this one is where Earth is today. Both are correct, and they answer different questions.

Looking down on the plane of the ecliptic, traced from the ephemeris over one full orbit of 365 days. Mars’s orbit is the faint one, for scale. The Sun sits off the centre of the ellipse — that offset is the eccentricity, and it is why the two distances differ.

Where it is heading

Earth reaches perihelion — its closest approach to the Sun — on 3 January 2027, in 3 months, at 0.983 AU. It is currently 46% of the way from perihelion to aphelion, moving at 29.84 km/s.

Common questions

How far is Earth from the Sun?: Today, 10 October 2026, Earth is 149,405,575 km from the Sun — 0.149 billion kilometres, or 0.999 astronomical units. That figure changes constantly: the orbit is an ellipse, so Earth is closer at one end than the other.
What is Earth's average distance from the Sun?: 1.000 AU — 0.150 billion km. This is the semi-major axis, which is the number most references quote as "the" distance. It is an average, and Earth is actually at it only twice per orbit.
What are Earth's closest and furthest distances?: Closest (perihelion) 0.983 AU or 0.147 billion km, next on 3 January 2027. Furthest (aphelion) 1.017 AU or 0.152 billion km, next on 5 July 2027. The difference between them is 4,996,217 km.
How long does sunlight take to reach Earth?: 8.3 minutes at today's distance. Light from the Sun reaches Earth in about 8 minutes 20 seconds, so that is the figure everyone knows.

Positions from VSOP87 via Astronomy Engine, accurate to within one arcminute. Perihelion and aphelion are found by search rather than taken from a table, which is why the dates are exact and why the extremes differ slightly from one orbit to the next — the other planets pull on this one. See Earth’s orbit, Earth right now, or watch it move in the live simulation.