The term that refers to when the Earth is closest to the sun is "perihelion." During perihelion, the Earth is at its closest distance to the sun in its elliptical orbit around it. This event occurs around early January each year.
It's important to note that perihelion is the opposite of "aphelion," which refers to the point in Earth's orbit when it is farthest from the sun, occurring around early July each year.
Therefore, the correct term for when the Earth is closest to the sun is perihelion, while aphelion refers to when the Earth is farthest from the sun in its orbit.
