{"id":14645,"date":"2025-06-09T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.telescoop.nl\/?p=14645"},"modified":"2025-11-27T19:30:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T18:30:35","slug":"which-planet-is-closest-to-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.telescoop.nl\/en\/welke-planeet-staat-het-dichtst-bij-de-zon\/","title":{"rendered":"Which planet is closest to the sun?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The question which planet is closest to the sun<\/strong> seems like a simple geography question. Yet there turns out to be a surprising amount behind it. For although Mercury is the planet closest to the sun, it is NOT the hottest planet. Moreover, Mercury is hard to see from Earth. In this blog you can read how that is, and how you can still observe it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo of Mercury showing that the surface is heavily studded with craters and impact structures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Which planet is closest to the sun?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The planet closest to the sun is Mercury<\/strong>. With a distance of only 58 million kilometers from the sun, it is the innermost planet of our solar system. Yet Mercury is far from being the best-known planet - and there's a reason for that. It is small, hard to see, and often skipped by beginners. In this blog, you will read why Mercury is so special, how to find it and why it is NOT the hottest planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mercury: the inner planet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mercury turns in only 88 days<\/strong> around the sun and barely has an atmosphere. As a result, temperatures fluctuate extremely: from -180\u00b0C overnight to +430\u00b0C<\/strong> daytime. Because there is no layer of air to retain heat, the night side cools down at lightning speed once the sun goes down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is Venus hotter than Mercury?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You would think that Mercury is the hottest planet - after all, it is closest to the sun. Yet that's not true. Venus<\/strong> is on average warmer than Mercury, with constant temperatures around the 465\u00b0C<\/strong>. This is because of the powerful greenhouse effect<\/strong> of its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere. This effectively retains heat both day and night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mercury completely lacks such an atmosphere, so heat dissipates quickly. A fascinating contrast between distance and temperature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do you rarely see Mercury?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mercury is difficult to spot because it is always close to the sun<\/strong> in the sky. As a result, it is only visible:<\/p>\n\n\n\n