How far are the planets from the sun?
The planets revolve around the sun in elliptical (oval-shaped) orbits. The sun does not sit at the center of the ellipse, rather it is situated near one of the elongated ends. Thus, a planet is closer to the sun at some points along its orbit and farther from the sun at other points along its orbit. The table below lists each planet’s average distance from the sun. It begins with Mercury, the planet closest to the sun, and continues with planets successively farther from the sun.
