Our Nearest Planet

[fiction-factory]

There was an interesting piece on Radio 4's excellent More or Less programme last week about which planet is our nearest neighbour. If you didn't hear the programme I'd be interested to know what people think the 'answer' was. Actually it does depend how you frame the question but it did make me think about how we visualise the solar system

[mibn2cweus]

jim360 Haha, good point. From above, OG. 17:27 Tue 15th Jan 2019

Unless you live down under.

[mibn2cweus]

At the moment - https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/planets/distance

Click on 'Distance from the Earth'

[fiction-factory]

Great link. Thanks I notice that it's Venus now that's closest to Earth yet only 3 weeks ago on Christmas Day 2018 it was Mercury that was our closest planet.

[Theland]

How does Gas coalesce into planets or even stars?
Clouds of gas gravitating together, getting denser, then surely the pressure would expand it again into the surrounding space vacuum?
Read somewhere that star formation is described only by speculation, and still stumps the scientists.

[jim360]

I don't know enough about star formation to answer your question. Can certainly believe that there's a lot about how it works we don't know.

[ToraToraTora]

did you know that Venus is the only planet that has the sun rise in the west? and also that it's day is longer than its year?

[ToraToraTora]

fascinating question FF and I take th ewhole average distance over time thing but when we say closest we normally mean closest orbit, that's why we say Mars, generally.

[mibn2cweus]

The orbital distance of Venus (from Earth) is nearly half that of Mars.

[ToraToraTora]

yes quite right mibn, dunno why I thought it was mars last night!

[fiction-factory]

Currently Mercury is closest again by a long way https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/planets/distance

There was a competition question on TV tonight about something like how far all the paper on earth would stretch and the answer was to Mars and back something like 3 times- but as the distance varies so much i assume they meant when it's at its closest

[mibn2cweus]

Currently Venus is closest to Earth. Mercury is further than Mars until the 19th.