The distance at inferior conjunction (closest to earth) is calculated by subtracting the planet's orbit size from earth's distance from the sun (1 au). what is mercury's distance at inferior conjunction?
Mercury's distance at inferior conjunction is 0.61 AU
Looking at a table of orbits, Mercury has an orbital distance of 0.39 AU. So the inferior conjunction will be:
1 AU - 0.39 AU = 0.61 AU
