1. Problem statement: find the distance from Earth to each planet for visualization. 2. Formula used: distance depends on the planets’ positions in their orbits, so a single exact value does not exist because the planets are constantly moving. 3. Important rule: astronomers often use average orbital distance from the Sun, called the semi-major axis, to compare planets. 4. A useful Earth-centered reference is the difference in average distance from the Sun: $$\text{Earth-to-planet gap} \approx \left| a_{\text{planet}} - a_{\text{Earth}} \right|$$ 5. Use Earth’s average distance from the Sun as $1.000$ AU, and the planets’ average distances as follows: - Mercury: $0.387$ AU - Venus: $0.723$ AU - Earth: $1.000$ AU - Mars: $1.524$ AU - Jupiter: $5.203$ AU - Saturn: $9.537$ AU - Uranus: $19.191$ AU - Neptune: $30.070$ AU 6. Compute the approximate Earth-to-planet distance using subtraction and absolute value: $$\left|0.387-1.000\right|=\left|\,-0.613\right|=0.613\ \text{AU}$$ $$\left|0.723-1.000\right|=\left|\,-0.277\right|=0.277\ \text{AU}$$ $$\left|1.524-1.000\right|=0.524\ \text{AU}$$ $$\left|5.203-1.000\right|=4.203\ \text{AU}$$ $$\left|9.537-1.000\right|=8.537\ \text{AU}$$ $$\left|19.191-1.000\right|=18.191\ \text{AU}$$ $$\left|30.070-1.000\right|=29.070\ \text{AU}$$ 7. Final answer for visualization: Earth is about $0.613$ AU from Mercury, $0.277$ AU from Venus, $0$ AU from itself, $0.524$ AU from Mars, $4.203$ AU from Jupiter, $8.537$ AU from Saturn, $18.191$ AU from Uranus, and $29.070$ AU from Neptune. 8. Note: these are simplified average distances, not exact real-time distances, which change every day.