yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

🌍 Which Planet is the Closest?


2m read
·Nov 7, 2024

My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming… Planets.

Every Physics classroom has a Solar System line like this. Or… like this. (Sorry, Pluto.) Looking at the line, which planet is closest to Earth: Venus or Mars? To answer, you need first know that, like many things in school, the line is a lie.

Planets are not people queuing for coffee, but rather spheroids scattered in space, always in motion, not in simple circles either, but in ellipses at untidy angles. In the cold, dark expanse, this is the coziest Venus gets to Earth, but only about once a year and a half-ish. Starting close, she orbits far, then comes back, needs some space -- on the other side of the sun.

This means when Venus is away, Mars can be the closest to play. So because of orbits, there isn’t one answer to, “Who is the closest?” It's really, “Who is mostly the closest?” The mostest closest. When Mars and Venus are both on the other side of the Sun, it leaves little Mercury the closest.

Each of Earth’s inner three planet friends are at one time the farthest and the closest. And Mercury, with his smallest orbit, makes him never that far from Earth. At least on planetary scales. Giving the little guy a uniquely close relationship with Terra. In fact, watching the planets spin, because of his small orbit, Mercury, not Mars or Venus, is the closest planet most of the time.

Looking at the line, that seems unpossible. But nonetheless, in the way of actual orbits, if we keep measuring the distance to all the planets as they spin, Mercury is Earth's mostest closest neighbor. Which is delightfully unexpected.

But wait, if Mercury is the mostest closest to Earth, he has to be the mostest closest to Venus as well, right? Because her orbit is smaller than Earth's. And running the numbers, it's true. Making Earth's special relationship with Mercury less special.

But at least this is one time where the line provides the obvious answer. Mercury is closest to Venus. While we’re here, who is Mars’s mostest closest? On his other side is the asteroid belt, so it should be Earth. But, maybe it's Venus? Maybe the rule is the second closest is the mostest closest.

Watching the results, aaaand… Oh my Celestia, it's Mercury again. Mercury is the mostest closest to Earth, Venus, and Mars, for the same reason each time. Bigger orbits make farther average distances for longer times. So, mercurial Mercury is the constant-est companion.

No, no. It can't be true for Jupiter too. Enormous, far away Jupiter. But, it is! Once again, Mercury’s small orbit means he never goes as far away as the other planets with their bigger orbits.

Thus, are you ready for this? The orbital math that shows Mercury is the mostest closest to Jupiter is the same for all the planets and everything that orbits the sun. (You too, Pluto.) [high-five]

For each of the planets, Mercury is the mostest closest. [soft ambient music]

More Articles

View All
Predatory Shark Attacks | When Sharks Attack
When a shark bites a human, they never get the same taste, let’s say, as they would by biting a fish. So generally, they will release us and swim away. These incidents were totally different. The shark came in, attacked the victim, and came back and attac…
Howard Marks: A Once in a Lifetime Financial Event is Here
Last 14 years were really quite idyllic, um, in the economy and in the market. We had the longest bull market in history, the longest economic recovery in history. Uh, we set a lot of records in many ways. Living was easy, interest rates were low, and com…
Nat Geo Staff Ranks Top 8 BEST Walking Shoes for Men and Women | National Geographic
Heyo! I’m Starlight Williams, a digital editor at National Geographic and your go-to gal for information you didn’t know you needed. Today I’m teaming up with my fellow walking aficionado, Ruben Rodriguez Perez, to talk to you about our picks for the best…
Searching For Life in Volcanoes and Other Extreme Environments | Nat Geo Live
JEFFREY MARLOW: As a scientist, we often go to some of the most extreme places on our planet to collect microbes, bring ‘em back, understand what they’re doing and how they work. These types of organisms can actually broaden our search for life beyond ear…
Taking Landscape Photos | National Geographic
Being confirmed as a finalist, nothing like this has ever happened to me before in my life. I still can’t believe I made it to this point. I can only hope that my photographs give people a sense of who I am. My name is Nina Ritchie, and I live in Chinle,…
A Steam Pit Celebration | Live Free or Die
[Music] Yeah, that’s good. Even these rim rocks are pretty warm, but most importantly, everything below the ground level’s red hot under there. Matt’s putting the finishing touches on the primitive pit he’ll use to roast his wild turkey, but it’s a delic…