2006-12-28 15:20:48 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
It is normally either Mars or Venus that is closest to us, BUT when Venus and Mars are BOTH on the far side of the Sun from us, then Mercury will temporarily be the nearest planet to us, wherever it is in its orbit.
However, Jupiter can never be the closest to us as Mercury, even if on the far side of the Sun from us, will always be closer to us than Jupiter ever gets, as inspection of the following table makes clear
MERCURY Perihelion: 0.31 AU. Aphelion: 0.47 AU
VENUS Perihelion: 0.72 AU. Aphelion: 0.73 AU
EARTH Perihelion: 0.98 AU. Aphelion: 1.01 AU
MARS Perihelion: 1.38 AU. Aphelion: 1.66 AU
JUPITER Perihelion: 4.95 AU. Aphelion: 5.45 AU
From which we can see that
Minimum Mercury-Earth distance = 0.51 AU
Minimum Venus-Earth distance = 0.25 AU
Minimum Mars-Earth distance = 0.37 AU
Maximum Mercury-Earth distance = 1.48 AU
Maximum Venus-Earth distance = 1.74 AU
Maximum Mars-Earth distance = 2.67 AU
Mininimum Jupiter-Earth distance = 3.94 AU
NB the orbits are not perfect circles but ellipses with a nearpoint (perihelion) and a farpoint (aphelion). And the years are not all the same length: Mars orbits the Sun in 1.88 Earth Years Venus takes 225 days and Mercury a mere 88 days, Jupiter however takes nearly 12 years.
2006-12-28 16:14:48 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
Very good question!
Right now, the answer is Mercury.
While it is true that the nearest planetary ORBIT to Earth is Venus, at any particular point in time the nearest PLANET will depend on exactly where each planet is in its orbit compared to Earth. The correct answer will at different times be Mercury, Venus, or Mars.
For example, if Venus and Mars are in the portion of their orbit that is on the other side of the Sun, while Mercury is on the same side as the Earth, then Mercury will be closest.
Right now (12/28/2006) all 3 planets are on the other side of the Sun, and Mercury is closest, by about 18 Million miles:
Distance to Mercury: 133 Million miles
Distance to Venus: 151 Million miles
Distance to Mars: 223 Million miles
Here is a good link that shows where the planets are in relation to each other, and their distance to the Earth. This website measures distances in AU, where 1 AU equals about 93 Million miles.
http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Solar
2006-12-28 23:39:10 · answer #2 · answered by I don't think so 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Venus
2006-12-28 23:25:20 · answer #3 · answered by Anirudh T 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Venus
2006-12-28 23:25:10 · answer #4 · answered by martina_ie 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Distance to Mercury: 133 Million miles
Distance to Venus: 151 Million miles
SO, venus is nearest to us.
2006-12-29 00:23:13 · answer #5 · answered by SAMS 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
When earth's orbit and Venus' orbit are closest together, they are about 25 million miles apart.
Mars is the next closest to earth at 35 million miles during its closest orbit.
2006-12-28 23:30:12 · answer #6 · answered by Nick Name 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
venus
2006-12-28 23:28:53 · answer #7 · answered by tootsie6786 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
venus
2006-12-28 23:27:59 · answer #8 · answered by »-(¯`v´¯)-» BLAH くろ 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Venus.....
2006-12-30 07:05:20 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
it is either Venus or mars
My-Mercury
Very-Venus
Educated-Earth
Mother-Mars
Just- Jupiter
Served-Saturn
Us-Uranus
Nine-Neptune
Pizzas-Pluto (even though it is not a planet ne more -_-)
2006-12-28 23:30:09 · answer #10 · answered by Lorie_Weasley 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋