Mercury is closest to the Sun. What is interesting about this planet? What is the mass of Mercury and its distinguishing features? Find out more here…
Features of the planet
The countdown of the planets of the solar system begins with Mercury. The distance from the Sun to Mercury is 57.91 million km. It's pretty close, so the temperature on the surface of the planet reaches 430 degrees.
Mercury is similar to the Moon in some characteristics. It has no satellites, the atmosphere is very rarefied, and the surface is indented with craters. The largest one is 1550 km wide from an asteroid that crashed into the planet about 4 billion years ago.
The rarefied atmosphere does not allow heat to be retained, so Mercury is very cold at night. The difference in night and day temperatures reaches 600 degrees and is the largest in our planetary system.
The mass of Mercury is 3.33 1023 kg. This indicator makes the planet the lightest and smallest (after depriving Pluto of the title of the planet) in our system. The mass of Mercury is 0.055 of the Earth's. The size of the planet is not much larger than the natural satellite of the Earth. The average radius of the planet Mercury is 2439.7 km.
In the depthsMercury contains a large amount of metals, which form its core. It is the second densest planet after Earth. The core makes up about 80% of Mercury.
Observations of Mercury
We know the planet under the name of Mercury - the name of the Roman messenger god. The planet was observed as early as the 14th century BC. The Sumerians called Mercury in astrological tables the "leaping planet". It was later named after the god of writing and wisdom, "Naboo".
The Greeks gave the planet a name in honor of Hermes, calling it "Hermaon". The Chinese called it the "Morning Star", the Indians called it Budha, the Germans identified it with Odin, and the Mayans identified it with an owl.
Before the invention of the telescope, it was difficult for European explorers to observe Mercury. For example, Nicolaus Copernicus, describing the planet, used the observations of other scientists, not from northern latitudes.
The invention of the telescope has greatly facilitated the life of astronomers-researchers. Mercury was first observed by Galileo Galilei from a telescope in the 17th century. After him, the planet was observed by: Giovanni Zupi, John Bevis, Johann Schroeter, Giuseppe Colombo and others.
Close proximity to the Sun and infrequent appearance in the sky has always created difficulties for the study of Mercury. For example, the famous Hubble telescope cannot recognize objects so close to our star.
In the 20th century, radar methods began to be used to study the planet, which made it possible to observe the object from the Earth. It is not easy to send spacecraft to the planet. This requires special manipulations, whichconsumes a lot of fuel. In the entire history, only two ships visited Mercury: Mariner 10 in 1975 and Messenger in 2008.
Mercury in the night sky
The apparent magnitude of the planet ranges from −1.9m to 5.5m, which is enough to see it from Earth. However, it is not easy to see it due to the small angular distance with respect to the Sun.
The planet is visible for a short time after dusk. At low latitudes and near the equator, the day lasts the shortest, so it is easier to see Mercury in these places. The higher the latitude, the more difficult it is to observe the planet.
In mid-latitudes, you can "catch" Mercury in the sky during the equinox, when twilight is the shortest. You can see it several times a year, both in the early morning and in the evening, during periods when it is at its maximum distance from the Sun.
Conclusion
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. The mass of Mercury is the smallest of the planets in our system. The planet was observed long before the beginning of our era, however, to see Mercury, certain conditions are needed. Therefore, it is the least studied of all the terrestrial planets.
