Almost everyone assumes Venus is our nearest neighbour, but averaged across its orbit the planet closest to Earth is actually Mercury

Most people would say Venus is Earth’s nearest planetary neighbour. Averaged across its orbit, though, the planet that stays closest to Earth is Mercury. The claim comes from a 2019 commentary in Physics Today by Tom Stockman, Gabriel Monroe and Samuel Cordner, and it has a tidy, faintly irritating quality: it is correct, and it […] Most people would say Venus is Earth’s nearest planetary neighbour. Averaged across its orbit, though, the planet that stays closest to Earth is Mercury. The claim comes from a 2019 commentary in Physics Today by Tom Stockman, Gabriel Monroe and Samu... [3590 chars]