When asked which planet is closest to Earth, most would likely answer Venus – which makes sense given that it travels along its shortest orbit more frequently and thus comes closer to us more frequently. Mercury is actually the correct answer: from now until early August it is in opposition with Earth and this proximity…
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, boasting its Great Red Spot that nearly covers as much surface area as our own planet! People typically calculate which planet comes closest to Earth in size by subtracting their average distances from the Sun; however, due to the nature of elliptical orbits, which one actually…
Tonight, Jupiter will be visible close to Earth and should shine brighter than all the stars combined. When viewing it with proper binoculars, its striped bands and three or four of its Galilean moons should become evident. Venus reappears in evening twilight shortly after sunset, rising low over the west-north-western horizon before joining an 11…
When asked which planet is nearest the Earth, people typically reply “Venus.” Although this statement may be accurate in most instances, Venus does not always constitute the closest planet. New research proves that Mercury is indeed our nearest planet when measured accurately; scientists used an advanced mathematical technique which takes time into account to demonstrate…
Mars may often be touted as our nearest neighboring planet, yet Venus actually comes closer on average according to a model published in Physics Today. Scientists used a mathematical technique that accounts for time by measuring the distances between multiple points on each planet’s orbit. They ran their simulation for 10,000 years to get accurate…
Venus is a mysterious world. Unlike Mars, however, Venus does not harbor life forms that support human habitation. In 1975, Soviet Venera 9 and 10 spacecraft successfully deployed landers on Venus and sent back images. Additionally, Vega spacecraft dropped balloons in its atmosphere for observation purposes as well as performing radar observations. The new VERITAS…
Usually when asked what planet is closest to Earth, most will answer Venus; however, this may not be accurate. Mercury, Venus and Earth come first; Mars follows; then Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are seen setting and rising after the Sun. These inferior planets set and rise after him. Mercury Mercury, the closest and smallest…
The solar system includes eight official planets, from Mercury to Jupiter, that vary in composition, conditions and other aspects. Mercury, our closest planet to the Sun and one of its smallest planets, measures only slightly larger than our moon. Mercury boasts extremely extreme temperatures that range from daytime highs of 800 Fahrenheit (430 Celsius) to…
Mercury may seem distant compared to Venus and Mars, but in terms of size it actually ranks closer. Scientists devised a mathematical formula to find which planet was nearest the earth in size, using data on distance between planets over time and then averaging their values to find which was nearest of all seven planets….
