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How far is Mercury from the Sun?
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Mercury
Mercury as seen by the Messenger probe, January 14, 2008. This image shows half of the hemisphere missed by Mariner 10 in 1974–75 and was snapped by Messenger's Wide Angle Camera when it was about 27,000 km (17,000 miles) from the planet.
Mercury's mean distance from the Sun is approximately 57,909,227 km (0.39 AU), or about 58 million km (36 million miles).12
Because Mercury has the most eccentric (elongated) orbit of the planets, its distance from the Sun varies significantly throughout its year:
- Perihelion (closest approach): 46 million km (29 million miles)3
- Aphelion (farthest distance): nearly 70 million km (43 million miles)3