Mercury (planet) diagram on the right illustrates the effects of the eccentricity, showing Mercury's orbit overlaid with a circular orbit having the same semi-major axis. Mercury's higher velocity when it is near perihelion is clear from the greater distance it covers in each 5-day interval. In the diagram the varying distance of Mercury to the Sun is represented by the size of the planet, which is inversely proportional to Mercury's distance from the Sun. This varying distance to the Sun leads to Mercury's surface being flexed by tidal bulges raised by the Sun that are about 17 times stronger than the Moon's
The Nearest Thing to Heaven by Alan Galbraith, and was the one that became the hit. This single followed his previous release, the Bernie Allen arranged "Helena", which even though a gold disc entry, wasn't a hit. The September 7, 1974 issue of "Billboard" recorded the song at #10, just behind George McCrae's "Rock Your Baby" at #9 and with Paper Lace's "The Night Chicago Died" at #1. That was the highest position it got to. The song stayed in the charts for 9 weeks. Walters didn't have any more chart hits after that. The Nearest Thing to Heaven The Nearest Thing To Heaven was