Venus is not Earth’s closest neighbor - Physics Today
Venus is not Earth’s closest neighbor - Physics Today
The article challenges the common belief that Venus is Earth's closest planetary neighbor. Using a new "point-circle method" and extensive simulations over 10,000 years, the authors demonstrate that Mercury is, on average, the closest planet to Earth and indeed to all other planets in the solar system. The piece explains how previous calculations were flawed and provides a more accurate approach to determining average orbital distances.
Note
sold. I'm in camp PCM now. and yet, it's a bit disappointing that mercury takes top spot in being the closest to every other planet!
Published
2019
Summary
The article challenges the common belief that Venus is Earth's closest planetary neighbor. Using a new "point-circle method" and extensive simulations over 10,000 years, the authors demonstrate that Mercury is, on average, the closest planet to Earth and indeed to all other planets in the solar system. The piece explains how previous calculations were flawed and provides a more accurate approach to determining average orbital distances.
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