Mercury is the planet in our solar system closest to the Sun.
This basic astronomical fact holds steady, averaging about 36 million miles (58 million kilometers) from the Sun, far nearer than Venus at 67 million miles.

Orbital Details

Mercury zips around the Sun in just 88 Earth days, the shortest orbit of any planet, due to its proximity.

Its elliptical path brings it as close as 29 million miles at perihelion and up to 43 million at aphelion, but the average confirms its top spot.

No other planet—Venus, Earth, or beyond—challenges this position over time.

Fun Fact from Forums

Online discussions, like those on Reddit, highlight how Mercury's tight orbit makes it the "average closest" planet not just to the Sun but to every other planet too, thanks to concentric orbits.

Users geek out: "Mercury isn’t the closest most of the time, but has the lowest average distance to all others".

Quick Distance Table

Planet| Avg. Distance from Sun (million km) 5
---|---
Mercury| 57
Venus| 108
Earth| 149
Mars| 229

TL;DR: Mercury, no debate—nearest neighbor to our star.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.