What is the closest two planets can be to each other?

What is the closest two planets can be to each other?

Mercury (above) is the closest planet to Earth — in fact, it’s the closest planet to every other planet. This is startling because we all have a built-in misconception about the layout of the solar system. It’s true that Venus orbits the sun between Earth and Mercury.

Can two planets crash into each other?

a gravitational interaction can “kick” one of the planets very hard, either sending it into the sun or out of the solar system, or the mutual gravitational attraction of the two planets can cause them to merge, resulting in a spectacular collision.

What prevents planets from colliding with one another?

What keeps planets in their orbit is the balance between the opposing forces of gravity and inertia. The sun’s gravity pulls planets toward it, and inertia keeps planets moving in a straight line. The sun is almost, but not quite, at the center of this oval. Similarly, the orbit of the moon around Earth is elliptical.

What planet is closer to Earth?

Although Venus is the planet that comes closest to Earth as it sweeps by on its orbit, Mercury stays the closest to Earth the longest, according to a commentary published Tuesday (March 12) in the magazine Physics Today.

What stops planets from crashing into the sun?

The gravity of the Sun keeps the planets in their orbits. They stay in their orbits because there is no other force in the Solar System which can stop them.

What is the closest two planets can come to Earth?

Depends on how you mean. If you mean what is the closest two objects could come without tearing each other apart, it is the Roche limit as explained by jherico. If you mean the closest two planets ever come our actual solar system, than its about 24 million miles on Venus’ closest approach to Earth.

What would happen if two planets hit each other?

If it were two rocky planets passing by very fast, deformation should be minimal. But the answer is: it depends. The speed the planets are moving away from each other would be the biggest factor, since the gravity of both would pull them closer, according to Newton’s Law of Gravitation: F (g) = G (m1*m2)/r^ 2.

Why are Venus and mercury so close to each other?

This is because the planets orbits are elliptical. When Mercury is farthest from the sun and Venus is it’s closest, and if the planets are both in line with the sun in their orbits, then they can be as close as 23.8 million miles from each other.

Which two planets in the Solar System form interlocking ellipses?

The two orbits are inclined with respect to each other, so it would be more accurate to say that the orbits form interlocking ellipses. The answer to question 2 is Mercury and Venus. The orbit of Mercury is actually quite eccentric, meaning there’s quite a large gap between its closest point (perihelion) and its farthest point (aphelion).