I think the most recent was actually January 4, 2001 at 5am eastern standard time.
January 3, 2010 was the date of the "most recent" perihelion. Hopefully, not the "last" one.
Well the date it was the last time was acually March,22,1470
The earth's orbit around the sun is not a perfect circle, so there is a point at which we are nearest to the sun, and a point at which we are farthest from it. The point in the orbit at which we are nearest the sun is called "perihelion". The earth passes that point at some time during the first few days in January. In 2011, it happened on January 3. The point in the orbit at which we are farthest from the sun is called "aphelion". We pass it at some time during the first few days of July.
When Earth is at perihelion, which occurs around early January, the United States experiences winter. This is because perihelion happens when Earth is closest to the Sun, but the axial tilt of the Earth causes the Northern Hemisphere, including the U.S., to be tilted away from the Sun at this time, resulting in cooler temperatures and shorter days characteristic of winter.
The last time Saturn was at perihelion was in July 2003. Saturn's orbit takes about 29.5 Earth years. So, that means the next time Saturn will be at its closest to the Sun will be at the end of the year 2032.
Perihelion, the point in Earth's orbit where it is closest to the sun, typically occurs in early January each year.
Planets orbit stars in elipses, or elliptical orbits, which means their orbit around the star is an oval shape, as opposed to a circle. That means that at one point they will be closest to the star, and at another point they will be the farthest. Perihelion is when the planet is closest to the star, so the perihelion date is the date of which the planet is closest to the star.
It is NOT the June solstice, as some may assume. It is a few days later. This year it was, I believe, July 4. After that point, the earth began to accelerate and will continue to do so until it reaches perihelion in early January. The solstice has to do with the tilt of the earth's axis, and our farthest approach to the sun, aphelion, has to do with the eliptical shape of our orbit around the sun. These two things are independent, and we happen to be living at a time when the solstices are very close to aphelion and perihelion. Nothing requires that earth's axial tilt must have a certain orientation to our orbit. In fact, they are moving relative to each other all the time as a result of what is called precession.
Jupiter is closest to Earth when it is at opposition, which is when it is directly opposite the sun in the sky. At opposition, Jupiter is at its largest and brightest, making it an ideal time to observe the planet.
On January 2 or 3 each year.
Earth reaches 'perihelion' ... the point in its orbit that's closest to the sun ... at some time during the first few days of January each year.
The Earth reaches its closest point to the Sun, known as perihelion, around January 3 each year. At this time, the distance between the Earth and the Sun is approximately 147 million kilometers (about 91 million miles). This event is part of Earth’s elliptical orbit and varies slightly each year.