Visually, the Sun will appear 3% larger than in July
According to TASS with reference to the press service of the Moscow Planetarium, on January 4, 2023, our planet will be at a minimum distance from the Sun, and therefore the apparent diameter of the star will be the largest in the year.
As astronomers told the agency, visually the Sun will appear 3% larger than in July. The scientists recalled that it is possible to study the Sun with a telescope and other optical instruments only with the use of a special filter.
On Wednesday, January 4, 2023, the distance between the Sun and our planet will be the minimum of the year and will be 147,098,925 km. <…> The apparent diameter of the Sun is the largest in 2023 (32 arc minutes 35 seconds). In this regard, the disk of the celestial body will look 3% larger than in early July, when this distance is maximum.
Moscow planetarium.
The Moscow Planetarium also noted that the length of the day at the latitude of the capital will increase from 7 hours 11 minutes in early January to 8 hours 37 minutes by the end of the month.
