How long does the light from the sun take to get to mercury?

Answer 1

It really depends on the current distance of Mercury from The Sun. The orbit of Mercury (and of all the planets) is not perfectly circular. There are times Mercury is closer to The Sun than other times. When it's at its closest, or perihelion, Mercury is a little over 28.5 million miles from The Sun, and light takes just over 2 minutes and 33 seconds to travel from The Sun to Mercury. When Mercury is at is farthest distance, or aphelion, it is almost 43.4 million miles from the Sun, and light takes just over 3 minutes and 53 seconds to travel from The Sun to Mercury.

So, based on the dates that Mercury is at aphelion and perihelion, your answer is:

On August 21st, 2009, light takes 3 minutes and 53 seconds to travel from The Sun to Mercury

On October 4th, 2009, light takes 2 minutes and 33 seconds to travel from The Sun to Mercury.

Answer 2

The mean distance from Mercury to the Sun is 58 million km, or approximately 3.2 light-minutes. It takes the Sun's light from 2 1/2 to 3 3/4 minutes to reach Mercury. The orbit of Mercury varies from 28,583,820 miles (46,001,200 km, 0.307499 AU) to 42,760,839 miles (68,816,900km, 0.466697 AU)

Answer 3

It is only about 3.22 light minutes away from the Sun.

Mercury's distance from the Sun varies a lot, because its orbit is not nearly circular. So this answer is just an average.

Answer 4

Some tiny fraction of one. The Sun is about 8 light minutes from Earth, and the average distance to Mercury is the same.

Answer 5

Approximately 3.2 minutes