Mercury is the smallest of the eight planets in the Solar System and the closest to the Sun is visible from Earth. Due to the close proximity of the Sun, it has always been difficult to collect information about the planet. Let's get complete information about the Orbit, atmosphere, surface, volcanic activity, etc. of mercury.

Orbit

Mercury’s orbit is the flattest among all the planets. Its orbital concentration is 0.21. Its distance from the Sun is thought to range from 46,000,000 to 70,000,000 km (29,000,000 to 43,000,000 mile). It takes 87.969 Earth days for a complete orbit. This planet's orbit is mounted on a circular orbit while its semi-principal axis is equal.

Atmosphere

Mercury has a light atmosphere that is mainly composed of atoms from the solar wind. Mercury is very hot due to which these atoms fly into space. This is unlike Earth and Venus, whose environment is permanent, this planet’s atmosphere keeps on being new.

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Surface

The pits on the surface of Mercury are quite deep, a few hundred km long and three km deep. It appears that the surface of this planet is about 0.1% narrower. On the surface of Mercury lies the Caloris Basin, which is about 1300 km in diameter. It is like the Mariya Basin of the Moon. Perhaps it is also caused by the collision of a comet or asteroid. Apart from these pits, this planet also has some flat plateaus which are probably made up of past volcanic activities.

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Volcanology

The data obtained from the Mariner 10 suggests that there is some volcanic activity on Mercury but some more data is needed to prove it. Surprisingly there is evidence of aquatic ice in the craters of Mercury’s North Pole. Evidence was also found from the radar.

Myths

According to the Roman myths, Mercury is the messenger of the gods, the Roman form of the Greek god Hermes, the god of trade, travel, and pilgrimage. It got the name of the messenger because the planet travels very fast in the sky, completing one of its revolutions in about 88 days.

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Observations

Mercury has been known since Sumerian times, 3 Millennium Before Christ. It has sometimes been called the sunrise star, sometimes the sunset star. Greek astronomers knew that these two names belong to the same planet. Heraclitus even believed that Mercury and Venus revolve around the Sun, not the Earth. Mercury is closer to the Sun than the Earth, so from the Earth, it shows its phases like a moon. Galileo’s telescope was small so that he could not see the phases of Mercury but he saw the phases of Venus.

Naming

The working group naming the planetary system has approved new names for five basins on this planet: Caloris Basin, Beethoven Basin, Tolstoj Basin, Raditladi Basin, Rembrandt Basin.

Formation

When several kilometers of dust piles come together, they begin to heat up and unite. This mass, like a vortex formed in the universe, also attracts other substances towards it. Finally, hot, round-shaped planets emerge. The further away a planet is from the sun and its excessive radiation, the greater the chances of snow there. Then the ice is made of water or methane or other volatile gases. It was here that planets like Saturn became huge gas.

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Excess Of Sulphur And Iron

But planets with solid surfaces close to the sun took shapes, such as Mars, Earth, Venus, and Mercury. American spacecraft Messenger explores the surface of Mercury. Mercury has more iron than Earth and Mars. Scientists were surprised to find elements like sulfur and chlorine on Mercury.

Dr. Jörn Helbert of the DLR Institute of Planetary Research in Berlin is associated with this campaign. He says, “these are substances that disappear in very high temperatures. As if the sulfur was not supposed to be there. But Mercury’s surface has four and a half per sulfur. It is very surprising.

Magnetic Field

Mercury has a remarkable and global magnetic field, despite its small size and 59-day-long slow rotation. According to measurements taken by Mariner 10, it is about 1.1% all-powerful compared to Earth. The force of this magnetic field is about 300 nT on the equinox of Mercury. Like Earth, Mercury also has two polar fields. Unlike Earth, the pole of this planet is close to the rotational axis of the planet. Measurements from both the spacecraft Mariner-10 and the Messenger have shown that the size and power of the magnetic field are permanent.