Chimborazo: closest to space, not the highest above sea level
Everest is the highest mountain above sea level at 8,848 m, but Chimborazo in Ecuador sits farther from Earth’s center due to the planet’s equatorial bulge—about 6,384.4 km from the center versus Everest’s ~6,382.3 km, a ~2.1 km difference. Whether it’s closest to space depends on how you define space: from the center (Chimborazo wins) or from sea level (Everest wins). The key point is that “highest” and “farthest from the center” are two different measures, and Earth’s shape, not mountain height alone, drives the gap. Historical geodesy missions helped confirm the bulge and the oblate Earth.