The Closest Planets to Earth

Planets that orbit stars similar to our own could host liquid water, making its discovery even more significant and helping scientists understand its composition in terms of rocks and materials.

Most people believe Venus to be our nearest planet, but in actuality Mercury could actually be closer due to how astronomers calculate distance. Their position in their orbits determines their relative proximity.

Venus

Venus is our nearest planet, visible at nightfall and setting just hours after the Sun has set. Its bright, dazzling appearance is caused by clouds of sulphuric acid reflecting light from the Sun to obscure its surface while trapping heat like greenhouse for flowers resulting in temperatures reaching 460oC (860oF).

Venus is known for its harsh climate, even though the planet itself shares similar physical attributes with Earth. Venus features an iron core like Earth and molten mantle but at an extremely higher temperature; additionally, its massive CO2 atmosphere absorbs more sunlight than we do and accelerates temperature rise even faster.

Scientists remain baffled by Venus despite numerous space missions to this wretched world, most notably Russian Venera landers and NASA’s Magellan probe. Other than being scorching hot, it has few impact craters and seems geologically active with shifting tectonic plates and frequent volcanic eruptions.

On October 17th, Venus enters an asterism dubbed the Steering Wheel, comprised of four stars surrounding orange-red star Sadachbia (Zeta Aquarii; mag. +3.6). This grouping can often be found depicted as the head of Water-Bearer figures and sometimes seen as representing an amphora from which life’s waters flowed out into our universe.

Venus passes 4o North of this asterism on October 12th and 10o South on November 13th when it reaches its highest post-sunset altitude for this apparition in southern tropical latitudes – 38o above WSW horizon at sunset, remaining fully visible for over 2 hours after darkness falls.

On November 12-13th Venus passes briefly by M8 (NGC 6523), an eye-catching 6th magnitude globular cluster within Scorpius with magnitude +3.9 magnification, between its limbs. Large telescopes equipped with nebular filters will offer breathtaking views. Venus took just 17 hours to travel across its apparent width! Additionally on this day Venus came within just 1o north of red giant Antares (Sgr or Gamma Sagittarii; mag. +3.9).

Mars

Mars, often known by its nickname – The Red Planet- has an orange-red color which earned it this moniker. Mars rotates on its axis every 244.6 Earth hours to form one Martian day or sol. Mars’ axis tilt is tilted 25.2 degrees relative to its orbit around the Sun which gives rise to seasons similar to those experienced on Earth; those closer to it experience spring/summer while those further away experience fall/winter seasons.

Mars makes its closest approach to Earth once every 26 months, providing prime viewing conditions during the weeks preceding and post-opposition. At these times, Mars rises late in the evening before reaching a high point over the horizon at midnight – providing more illumination of surface details, including its distinctive red hue which stands out against background stars.

With a good telescope, it is possible to identify many of Earth’s prominent features including its prominent ice caps and mountain ranges as well as regions identified with albedo features (Argyre Basin and Hellas Planitia being two such areas) while dust clouds often obscure the polar region.

Utilizing a planetary app on your phone can help you easily and accurately pinpoint Mars at any given time and gain more information on its position in the sky. Most apps utilize GPS location services, compass bearing and accelerometer measurements in order to let you move it around the sky and show what’s going on with Mars.

A small telescope is an effective way to view Mars at its closest approach or opposition, when the planet is closest to our planet and large enough for detail to appear through such a lens. Be patient as only this moment allows viewing.

With an especially large telescope, you may be able to detect the presence of a thin atmosphere, visible as a dark haze around a planet’s surface and signalling early stages of formation.

Mercury

Mercury, named for the gods’ messenger of speed and lightening fast footwork, is the fastest planet of our Solar System and our closest neighbor. Ancient Sumerians first recognized it as a planet; Galileo discovered it using his telescope in 16th century. Due to its close proximity, however, less is understood about it than most planets; only Mariner 10 and Messenger missions have flown close enough for us to map its surface which is riddled with craters. Scientists use Mercury’s proximity as proof for Einstein’s theory of relativity which shows us how gravitation impacts spacetime relationships between planets – providing insights into how gravitation affect spacetime relations as predicted by Einstein’s theory of relativity which reveals how gravitation influences spacetime interactions among planets.

Mercury orbits the Sun more quickly than any of the other terrestrial planets, leading to extreme fluctuations in its equatorial surface temperatures. Daytime highs reach almost 800 degrees Fahrenheit (430 degrees Celsius), while at night it drops as low as minus 290degF (-180degC). Mercury’s major landforms differ significantly from Earth in that most are formed from glaciers or erosion while many features on Mercury are formed from massive meteor impacts during its early days; its smooth equatorial regions are punctuated with giant cliffs over billions of years that formed as its interior gradually cooled and contracted over billions of years since formation.

As with other terrestrial planets, Mercury boasts three layers: its core, mantle and solid crust. What sets Mercury apart is its tiny dense metallic core – believed to be so hot as to have melted some of the planet’s rocky mantle into liquid form and left its outer layers with an unusual dark hue; one 2016 study suggests the hue could come from carbon that wasn’t deposited by comets as previously assumed.

Mercury, situated so close to the Sun, has an extremely thin atmosphere composed primarily of atoms blown off its surface by solar wind and then drawn back in by its magnetosphere. Furthermore, Mercury’s weak magnetic field creates intense magnetic tornadoes which direct fast-moving solar winds around its equator into its exosphere and eventually back out again.

Jupiter

Jupiter, as one of our Solar System’s gas giants, is by far the biggest and heaviest planets in our Solar System. Its enormous mass sets it apart from Mercury, Venus and Mars which are much smaller. Jupiter stands out among stars as an extremely bright object in the night sky – something which astronomers still struggle to grasp fully.

Scientists theorize that deep within Jupiter, extreme pressure and temperatures combine to convert hydrogen gas into liquid metallic form that acts like a giant magnet, creating its powerful magnetic field and contributing to its famous Great Red Spot.

Jupiter boasts an abundance of moons. Ganymede, its massive megamoon, is larger than both Pluto and Mercury combined and the only known to possess its own magnetic field. Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io is considered the most active in our Solar System while frozen Europa could contain an ocean beneath its frozen crust.

Astronomers are intrigued by Jupiter due to its size, yet scientists also seek to gain more information on its composition and climate. By studying Jupiter and its many moons, scientists hope to gain more insight into the processes governing gas giants throughout spacetime.

Jupiter’s immense size and distance makes it difficult for ground-based telescopes to study it, but Hubble allows us to observe its polar regions with unprecedented detail, witnessing aurorae similar to those on Earth but 1000 times more energetic and complex.

Hubble’s close up view of Jupiter has provided valuable information about its atmosphere, including composition and density. Furthermore, it documented comet Shoemaker-Levy 9’s dramatic dive into its atmosphere in 1994 – providing details on how celestial bodies alter their surroundings.

Hubble plays an integral part in NASA’s efforts to study Jupiter and its many moons, providing breathtaking imagery, audio clips, and data that helps us comprehend life on such an enormous planet. It has sent back astonishing photographs and audio files that provide us with insight into life on Jupiter itself and beyond.