Clik here to view.
Two “Super Mercury” Exoplanets Found in a Single System
There’s a star system out there with three super-Earth planets and two super-Mercuries. Super-Earths are fairly familiar types of exoplanets, but super-Mercuries are rare. Those are planets with the...
View ArticleAstronomers Come Closer to Understanding How Mercury Formed
Simulations of the formation of the solar system have been largely successful. They are able to replicate the positions of all the major planets along with their orbital parameters. But current...
View ArticleClik here to view.
BepiColumbo Makes its Third Flyby of Mercury, Seeing the Planet's Night Side
ESA’s BepiColumbo continues its journey to Mercury by making another flyby … of Mercury! This is the third of six planned flybys of its destination planet, each of which gives the spacecraft a...
View ArticleMercury is Still Shrinking
Mercury is considered a scorching, barren landscape that would literally melt your face off if you were standing on it in full sunlight. But scientists have also known for a long time that it was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Solar Wind Whistles as it Passes Mercury
Mercury is the closest planet to our Sun, ranging from 46 million km (28.58 million mi) at perihelion to 69.82 million km (43.38 million mi) at aphelion. Because of its proximity, Mercury is strongly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
There Were Glaciers… on Mercury?
I have lost count of how many times I have given public lectures and explained the temperature differences between Mercury and Venus. How Mercury, surprisingly isn’t the hottest planet in the Solar...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mercury is the Perfect Destination for a Solar Sail
Solar sails rely upon pressure exerted by sunlight on large surfaces. Get the sail closer to the Sun and not surprisingly efficiency increases. A proposed new mission called Mercury Scout aims to take...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The BepiColombo Mission To Mercury is Losing Power
BepiColombo is a joint ESA/JAXA mission to Mercury. It was launched in 2018 on a complex trajectory to the Solar System’s innermost planet. The ESA reports that the spacecraft’s thrusters have lost...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mercury Could be Housing a Megafortune Worth of Diamonds!
Mercury, the closest planet to our Sun, is also one of the least understood in the Solar System. On the one hand, it is similar in composition to Earth and the other rocky planets, consisting of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
BepiColombo’s New Images of Mercury are Cool
The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo spacecraft made another flyby of its eventual target, Mercury. This is one of a series of Mercury flybys, as the spacecraft completes a complex set of maneuvers designed to...
View Article