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But it's getting closer with each pass, and that distance will be down to 4cm by 2025.

But that's not really touching the sun, is it?

Yes, it is. The Sun is a very large ball of gas with a small one of something that is not gas on the middle (and a gradient between them). This goes well inside the large ball of gas.

The sun doesn't have a solid surface like the Earth - it is a ball of gas that gets progressively less dense as it transitions to vacuum.

The original phrasing is more accurate. "Earth and sun being ... apart" doesnt tell you if you are measuring from the center or surface.

> "Earth and sun being ... apart" doesnt tell you if you are measuring from the center or surface.

Typically in the English language that is understood as surface to surface.

11cm is still a long ways away. It's crazy how close yet so far everything is.