Although Mars and Venus may come closest to each other, Mercury’s orbit allows it to be the planet that is usually closest to Earth
Mercury is the closest planet to Earth. Does it surprise you? Let’s say right away that yes, Venus certainly approaches us closer than Mercury (it can reach up to 40.2 million kilometers) and Mars can also approach our planet up to a distance of approximately 56.3 million kilometers (as will happen in 2287). But the fact is that the average distance from Earth to Mercury is only 77 million kilometers. This makes it the planet in the solar system that is usually closer to Earth than anyone else.
Mercury is the “closest” planet to Earth
The reason lies in the orbits of the four planets closest to the Sun. Mercury is closest to Earth because Venus is somewhere beyond the Sun for 112 days, while Mars has a very elliptical orbit that takes it very far from us for almost two years. , however, zips between Earth and the Sun every 44 days, so it is closer to Earth more often than Venus and Mars.
Orbit and the Sumerians
Furthermore, Mercury’s orbit is also the most eccentric (the least circular) of the eight planets in the solar system. The planet is at an average distance from the Sun of about 0.3871 astronomical units. For this reason, Mercury’s surface has the greatest temperature range of all the planets, with temperatures ranging from -173°C at night to 427°C during the day. Furthermore this planet: it was literally blown away by the solar wind. Its surface, in fact, is very metallic (almost like the core of the Earth) and characterized by many craters. In fact, if you notice, in many photos Mercury looks a lot like the Moon. Its discovery dates back to the Sumerians and its name is taken from the Roman god, messenger of the gods. The reason is because it orbits the Sun very quickly. There are few space missions that we have tried to send to this planet. we explain something more about why Mercury is so difficult to reach.
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