The mass of Mercury is equal. Size, mass and orbit of the planet Mercury

What is the mass of Mercury and its distinctive features? Find out more about this...

Features of the planet

The planetary countdown begins with Mercury solar system. The distance from the Sun to Mercury is 57.91 million km. This is quite close, so the temperature on the surface of the planet reaches 430 degrees.

In some characteristics, Mercury is similar to the Moon. It has no satellites, the atmosphere is very thin, and the surface is rugged with craters. The largest is 1,550 km wide from an asteroid that crashed into the planet about 4 billion years ago.

The thin 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 10 23 kg. This indicator makes the planet the lightest and smallest (after Pluto was deprived of the title of planet) in our system. Mercury's mass is 0.055 that of Earth's. By not much more Average radius is 2439.7 km.

The depths of Mercury contain large number metals that 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 Mercury - this is the name of the Roman messenger god. The planet was observed back in the 14th century BC. The Sumerians called Mercury the “jumping planet” in their astrological tables. It was later named after the god of writing and wisdom "Nabu".

The Greeks named the planet in honor of Hermes, calling it "Hermaon". The Chinese called it " Morning star", the Indians identified Budha, the Germans identified it with Odin, and the Mayans identified it with the owl.

Before the invention of the telescope, European researchers had difficulty observing Mercury. For example, Nicolaus Copernicus, when describing the planet, used the observations of other scientists not from northern latitudes.

The invention of the telescope made life much easier for research astronomers. Mercury was first observed from a telescope by Galileo Galilei in the 17th century. After him, the planet was observed by: Giovanni Zupi, John Bevis, Johann Schröter, Giuseppe Colombo and others.

Its close location to the Sun and infrequent appearance in the sky have 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 Earth. Spacecraft sending to the planet is not easy. This requires special manipulations, which consume a lot of fuel. In its entire history, only two ships have visited Mercury: Mariner 10 in 1975 and Messenger in 2008.

Mercury in the night sky

The apparent magnitude of the planet ranges from −1.9 m to 5.5 m, which is quite enough to see it from Earth. However, it is not easy to see due to the small angular distance in relation to the Sun.

The planet is visible for a short time after dusk falls. At low latitudes and near the equator, the days last 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 shortest. You can see him several times a year, like early morning, and in the evening, during periods when it is furthest away from the Sun.

Conclusion

Mercury is the most 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.

Mercury- the planet closest to the Sun ( general information about Mercury and other planets you will find in Appendix 1) - the average distance from the Sun is 57,909,176 km. However, the distance from the Sun to Mercury can vary from 46.08 to 68.86 million km. The distance of Mercury from Earth is from 82 to 217 million km. Mercury's axis is almost perpendicular to the plane of its orbit.

Due to the slight inclination of Mercury's rotation axis to the plane of its orbit, noticeable seasonal changes not on this planet. Mercury has no satellites.

Mercury is a small planet. Its mass is a twentieth of the mass of the Earth, and its radius is 2.5 times less than that of the Earth.

Scientists believe that in the center of the planet there is a large iron core - it accounts for 80% of the planet's mass, and on top is a mantle of rocks.

For observations from Earth, Mercury is a difficult object, since it must always be observed against the background of evening or morning dawn low above the horizon, and in addition, at this time the observer sees only half of its disk illuminated.

The first to explore Mercury was the American space probe Mariner 10, which in 1974-1975. flew past the planet three times. Coming as close as possible to this space probe with Mercury was 320 km.

The surface of the planet is like a wrinkled apple peel, it is riddled with cracks, depressions, mountain ranges, the highest of which reach 2-4 km, with sheer scarps 2-3 km high and hundreds of kilometers long. In a number of areas of the planet, valleys and craterless plains are visible on the surface. Average density soil - 5.43 g/cm3.

On the studied hemisphere of Mercury there is only one flat place - the Plain of Heat. It is believed that this is solidified lava that poured out from the depths after a collision with a giant asteroid about 4 billion years ago.

The atmosphere of Mercury is extremely low density. It consists of hydrogen, helium, oxygen, calcium vapor, sodium and potassium (Fig. 1). The planet probably receives hydrogen and helium from the Sun, and metals evaporate from its surface. This thin shell can only be called an “atmosphere” with a big stretch. The pressure at the surface of the planet is 500 billion times less than at the surface of the Earth (this is less than in modern vacuum installations on Earth).

General characteristics of the planet Mercury

The maximum surface temperature of Mercury recorded by sensors is +410 °C. Average temperature the night hemisphere is -162 °C, and the daytime hemisphere is +347 °C (this is enough to melt lead or tin). Temperature differences due to the change of seasons caused by the elongation of the orbit reach 100 °C on the day side. At a depth of 1 m, the temperature is constant and equal to +75 ° C, because porous soil conducts heat poorly.

Organic life on Mercury is excluded.

Rice. 1. Composition of Mercury's atmosphere

MESSENGER's first photograph from Mercury orbit, with the bright crater Debussy visible at top right. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Characteristics of Mercury

Weight: 0.3302 x 10 24 kg
Volume: 6.083 x 10 10 km 3
Average radius: 2439.7 km
Average diameter: 4879.4 km
Density: 5.427 g/cm3
Escape speed (second escape velocity): 4.3 km/s
Gravity on the surface: 3.7 m/s 2
Optical magnitude: -0.42
Natural satellites: 0
Rings? - No
Semi-major axis: 57,910,000 km
Orbital period: 87.969 days
Perihelion: 46,000,000 km
Aphelion: 69,820,000 km
Average orbital speed: 47.87 km/s
Maximum orbital speed: 58.98 km/s
Minimum orbital speed: 38.86 km/s
Orbital inclination: 7.00°
Orbital eccentricity: 0.2056
Sidereal rotation period: 1407.6 hours
Length of day: 4222.6 hours
Discovery: Known since prehistoric times
Minimum distance from Earth: 77,300,000 km
Maximum distance from Earth: 221,900,000 km
Maximum apparent diameter: 13 arcsec
Minimum apparent diameter from Earth: 4.5 arcseconds
Maximum optical magnitude: -1.9

Size of Mercury

How much big Mercury? by surface area, volume and equatorial diameter. Surprisingly, it is also one of the densest. She acquired her title of "smallest" after Pluto was demoted. This is why older accounts refer to Mercury as the second smallest planet. The above are the three criteria we will use to show.

Some scientists believe that Mercury is actually shrinking. The liquid core of the planet occupies 42% of the volume. The planet's rotation allows it to cool a small part of the core. This cooling and contraction is believed to be evidenced by cracks in the planet's surface.

Much like , and the continued presence of these craters indicates that the planet has not been geologically active for billions of years. This knowledge is based on a partial map of the planet (55%). It is unlikely to change even after MESSENGER maps the entire surface [editor's note: as of April 1, 2012]. The planet was most likely heavily bombarded by asteroids and comets during the Late Heavy Bombardment about 3.8 billion years ago. Some regions would have been filled with magmatic eruptions from within the planet. These cratered, smooth plains are similar to those found on the Moon. As the planet cooled, isolated cracks and ravines formed. These features can be seen on top of other features which are a clear indication that they are new. Volcanic eruptions ceased on Mercury about 700-800 million years ago, when the planet's mantle shrank enough to prevent lava flows.

The WAC photograph, showing a never-before-photographed region of Mercury's surface, was taken from an altitude of about 450 km above Mercury. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Mercury's diameter (and radius)

The diameter of Mercury is 4,879.4 km.

Need a way to compare it to something more similar? The diameter of Mercury is only 38% of the diameter of the Earth. In other words, you could fit almost 3 Mercurys side by side to match the diameter of the Earth.

In fact, there are ones that have a larger diameter than Mercury. The most big moon in the solar system is Jupiter's moon Ganymede, with a diameter of 5.268 km, and the second largest moon is , with a diameter of 5.152 km.

Earth's moon has a diameter of only 3,474 km, so Mercury is not much larger.

If you want to calculate the radius of Mercury, you need to divide the diameter in half. Since the diameter is 4,879.4 km, the radius of Mercury is 2,439.7 km.

Diameter of Mercury in kilometers: 4,879.4 km
Diameter of Mercury in miles: 3,031.9 miles
Radius of Mercury in kilometers: 2,439.7 km
Radius of Mercury in miles: 1,516.0 miles

Circumference of Mercury

The circumference of Mercury is 15.329 km. In other words, if Mercury's equator were completely flat and you could drive a car across it, your odometer would add 15.329 km from the trip.

Most planets are spheroids compressed at the poles, so their equatorial circumference is greater than from pole to pole. The faster they spin, the more the planet flattens out, so the distance from the center of the planet to its poles is shorter than the distance from the center to the equator. But Mercury rotates so slowly that its circumference is the same no matter where you measure it.

You can calculate the circumference of Mercury yourself using the classic mathematical formulas to get the circumference of a circle.

Circumference = 2 x Pi x radius

We know that the radius of Mercury is 2,439.7 km. So if you plug these numbers into: 2 x 3.1415926 x 2439.7 you get 15.329 km.

Circumference of Mercury in kilometers: 15.329 km
Circumference of Mercury in miles: 9.525 km

Crescent Moon of Mercury.

Volume of Mercury

The volume of Mercury is 6.083 x 10 10 km 3 . It seems like a huge number, but Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system by volume (demoting Pluto). It is even smaller than some of the moons in our solar system. The volume of Mercury is only 5.4% of the volume of the Earth, and the Sun is 240.5 million times larger than Mercury in volume.

More than 40% of Mercury's volume is occupied by its core, 42% to be exact. The core has a diameter of about 3,600 km. This makes Mercury the second densest planet among our eight. The core is molten and mostly composed of iron. The molten core can produce a magnetic field that helps deflect solar wind. The planet's magnetic field and low gravity allow it to maintain a slight atmosphere.

It is believed that Mercury was at one time more big planet; therefore, it had a larger volume. There is one theory to explain its current size, which many scientists have accepted on several levels. The theory explains the density of mercury and the high percentage of matter in the core. The theory states that Mercury originally had a metal-to-silicate ratio similar to that of typical meteorites, as is typical for rocky matter in our Solar System. At the time, the planet is believed to have had a mass about 2.25 times its current mass, but early in the history of the Solar System it was struck by a planetesimal that was 1/6 of its mass and several hundred kilometers in diameter. The impact scraped off much of the original crust and mantle, leaving the core as most of the planet and greatly reducing the volume of the planet.

Volume of Mercury in cubic kilometers: 6.083 x 10 10 km 3 .

Mass of Mercury
The mass of Mercury is only 5.5% of the earth's mass; actual value 3.30 x 10 23 kg. Since Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system, you would expect it to have a relatively small mass. On the other hand, Mercury is the second densest planet in our solar system (after Earth). Given its size, the density comes mainly from the core, estimated to be almost half the volume of the planet.

The mass of the planet consists of substances that are 70% metallic and 30% silicate. There are several theories to explain why the planet is so dense and rich in metallic substances. Most widely supported theories support that a high percentage of the core is the result of an impact. In this theory, the planet originally had a metal to silicate ratio similar to the chondrite meteorites common in our Solar System, and 2.25 times its current mass. Early in the history of our Universe, Mercury struck a planetesimal-sized impact object that was 1/6 of Mercury's hypothetical mass and hundreds of kilometers in diameter. An impact of such force would have scraped off most of the crust and mantle, leaving behind a huge core. Scientists believe that a similar incident created our Moon. Additional theory says the planet formed before the Sun's energy stabilized. The planet had much large mass in this theory, but the temperatures created by the protosun would have been very high, around 10,000 Kelvin, and most of the rock on the surface would have been vaporized. The rock vapor could then be blown away by the solar wind.

Mass of Mercury in kilograms: 0.3302 x 10 24 kg
Mercury's mass in pounds: 7.2796639 x 10 23 pounds
Mass of Mercury in metric tons: 3.30200 x 10 20 tons
Mass of Mercury in tons: 3.63983195 x 10 20

Artist's concept of MESSENGER in orbit around Mercury. Credit: NASA

Mercury's gravity

Mercury's gravity is 38% of Earth's gravity. A person weighing 980 Newtons on Earth (about 220 pounds) would weigh only 372 Newtons (83.6 pounds) upon landing on the planet's surface. Mercury is only slightly larger than our Moon, so you can expect gravity to be similar to the Moon's, 16% of Earth's. Big difference in higher density, Mercury is the second densest planet in the Solar System. In fact, if Mercury were the same size as Earth, it would be even denser than our own planet.

It is important to clarify the difference between mass and weight. Mass measures how much substance something contains. Therefore, if you have 100 kg of mass on Earth, you have the same amount on Mars, or in intergalactic space. Weight, however, is the force of gravity that you feel. Although bathroom scales measure in pounds or kilograms, they should actually measure in newtons, which is a measure of weight.

Take your current weight in either pounds or kilograms and then multiply by 0.38 on the calculator. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you would weigh 57 pounds on Mercury. If you weigh 68 kg on a bathroom scale, your weight on Mercury would be 25.8 kg.

You can also flip this number to calculate how much stronger you would be. For example, how high could you jump, or how much weight could you lift. The current world record for high jump is 2.43 meters. Divide 2.43 by 0.38 and you would have the world high jump record if it had been achieved on Mercury. In this case, it would be 6.4 meters.

To escape Mercury's gravity, you need to travel at a speed of 4.3 km/s, or about 15,480 km/h. Let's compare this with the Earth, where the escape velocity (second cosmic velocity) of our planet is 11.2 km/s. If you compare the ratio between the two planets, you get 38%.

Gravity on the surface of Mercury: 3.7 m/s 2
Escape velocity (second escape velocity) of Mercury: 4.3 km/s

Density of Mercury

Mercury's density is the second highest in the Solar System. Earth is the only denser planet. It is equal to 5.427 g/cm3 compared to earth density 5.515 g/cm3. If gravitational compression were removed from the equation, Mercury would be denser. A planet's high density is a sign of a large percentage of its core. The core makes up 42% of Mercury's total volume.

Mercury is a planet earth type like Earth, only one of four in our Solar System. Mercury has about 70% metallic substances and 30% silicates. Add Mercury's density and scientists can deduce its details internal structure. Although the Earth's high density is largely responsible for gravitational compression at the core, Mercury is much smaller and not as tightly compressed internally. These facts allowed NASA scientists and others to suggest that its core must be large and contain crushing amounts of iron. Planetary geologists estimate that the planet's molten core accounts for about 42% of its volume. On Earth, the nucleus occupies 17%.

Internal structure of Mercury.

This leaves the silicate mantle only 500-700 km thick. Data from Mariner 10 led scientists to believe that the crust is even thinner, on the order of 100-300 km. The mantle surrounds a core that has a higher iron content than any other planet in the solar system. So what caused this disproportionate amount of core matter? Most scientists accept the theory that Mercury had a ratio of metals to silicates similar to common meteorites - chondrites - several billion years ago. They also believe that it had a mass 2.25 times its current mass; however, Mercury may have struck a planetesimal 1/6 the mass of Mercury and hundreds of kilometers in diameter. The impact would have scraped away much of the original crust and mantle, leaving a larger percentage of the planet in the core.

Although scientists have several facts about Mercury's density, there are more to be discovered. Mariner 10 sent back a lot of information, but was only able to study 44% of the planet's surface. fills in the blank spots on the map as you read this article, and the BepiColumbo mission will go further in expanding our knowledge of this planet. Coming soon more theories to explain high density planets.

Density of Mercury in grams per cubic centimeter: 5.427 g/cm3.

Axis of Mercury

Like all planets in the Solar System, Mercury's axis is tilted from . In this case, the axial tilt is 2.11 degrees.

What exactly is the axial tilt of the planet? First, imagine that the Sun is a ball in the middle of a flat disk, like a vinyl record or CD. The planets are in orbit around the Sun inside this disk (more or less). This disk is known as the ecliptic plane. Each planet also rotates on its own axis when it is in orbit around the Sun. If the planet rotated perfectly straight up and down, then this line through the north and south poles of the planet would be perfectly parallel to the poles of the Sun, the planet would have an axial tilt of 0 degrees. Of course, none of the planets have such an inclination.

So if you were to draw a line between north and south poles Mercury and compared it to an imaginary line, Mercury would have no axial tilt at all, this angle would be 2.11 degrees. You might be surprised to know that Mercury's inclination is the smallest of all the planets in the Solar System. For example, the Earth's tilt is 23.4 degrees. And Uranus is generally turned over on its axis and rotates with an axial tilt of 97.8 degrees.

Here on Earth, the axial tilt of our planet causes the seasons. When is it summer in the northern hemisphere? North Pole deflected outward. You get more sunlight in summer, so it is warmer, and less in winter.

Mercury does not experience any seasons. Due to the fact that it has almost no axial tilt. Of course he doesn't have great atmosphere to retain heat from the sun. Any side facing the Sun heats up to 700 Kelvin, while the side away from the Sun has temperatures below 100 Kelvin.

Axial tilt of Mercury: 2.11°.

Mercury– the first planet of the solar system: description, size, mass, orbit around the Sun, distance, characteristics, interesting facts, history of study.

Mercury- the first planet from the Sun and the smallest planet in the Solar System. This is one of the most extreme worlds. It received its name in honor of the messenger of the Roman gods. It can be found without the use of instruments, which is why Mercury is noted in many cultures and myths.

However, it is also very mysterious object. Mercury can be observed in the morning and evening in the sky, and the planet itself has its own phases.

Interesting facts about the planet Mercury

Let's find out more interesting facts about the planet Mercury.

A year on Mercury lasts only 88 days

• One solar day (the interval between noon) covers 176 days, and a sidereal day (axial rotation) covers 59 days. Mercury is endowed with the greatest orbital eccentricity, and its distance from the Sun is 46-70 million km.

This smallest planet in the system

• Mercury is one of the five planets that can be found without the use of instruments. At the equator it extends over 4879 km.

It ranks second in density

• Each cm 3 is endowed with an indicator of 5.4 grams. But the Earth comes first because Mercury is represented by heavy metals and rocks.

There are wrinkles

• When iron planetary core cooled and shrank, the surface layer became covered with wrinkles. They can stretch for hundreds of miles.

There is a molten core

• Researchers believe that Mercury's iron core is capable of remaining in a molten state. Usually on small planets it quickly loses heat. But now they think that it contains sulfur, which lowers the melting point. The core covers 42% of the planetary volume.

In second place in terms of heat

• Although Venus lives further, its surface stably maintains the highest surface temperature because of greenhouse effect. The daytime side of Mercury warms up to 427°C, while the nighttime temperature drops to -173°C. The planet lacks an atmospheric layer and is therefore unable to provide uniform distribution heating

Most Cratered Planet

• Geological processes help planets renew their surface layer and smooth out crater scars. But Mercury is deprived of such an opportunity. All its craters are named after artists, writers and musicians. Impact formations exceeding 250 km in diameter are called basins. The largest is the Heat Plain, which stretches for 1550 km.

It was visited by only two devices

• Mercury is too close to the Sun. Mariner 10 flew around it three times in 1974-1975, imaging slightly less than half of the surface. MESSENGER went there in 2004.

The name was given in honor of the envoy to the Roman divine pantheon

• The exact date of discovery of the planet is unknown, because the Sumerians wrote about it in 3000 BC.

There is an atmosphere (I think)

• Gravity is only 38% of the earth's, but this is not enough to maintain a stable atmosphere (it is being destroyed solar winds). The gas comes out, but it is replenished by solar particles and dust.

Size, mass and orbit of the planet Mercury

With a radius of 2440 km and a mass of 3.3022 x 10 23 kg Mercury considered the smallest planet in the solar system. It is only 0.38 times the size of Earth. It is also inferior in parameters to some satellites, but in terms of density it is in second place after the Earth - 5.427 g/cm 3 . The bottom photo shows a comparison of the sizes of Mercury and Earth.

This is the owner of the most eccentric orbit. Mercury's distance from the Sun can vary from 46 million km (perihelion) to 70 million km (aphelion). This may also change the nearest planets. The average orbital speed is 47,322 km/s, so it takes 87,969 days to complete the orbital path. Below is a table of characteristics of the planet Mercury.

The rotation speed of the axis is 10.892 km/h, so a day on Mercury lasts 58.646 days. This suggests that the planet is in resonance 3:2 (3 axial rotation on 2 orbital ones).

The eccentricity and slowness of rotation mean that the planet takes 176 days to return to its original point. So one day on the planet is twice as long as a year. It also has the lowest axial tilt - 0.027 degrees.

Composition and surface of the planet Mercury

Composition of Mercury 70% represented by metal and 30% silicate materials. It is believed that its core covers approximately 42% of the total volume of the planet (for the Earth - 17%). Inside there is a core of molten iron, around which a silicate layer (500-700 km) is concentrated. The surface layer is the crust with a thickness of 100-300 km. On the surface you can see huge amount ridges that stretch for kilometers.

Compared to other planets in the solar system, Mercury's core has the largest number gland. It is believed that Mercury used to be much larger. But due to an impact with a large object, the outer layers collapsed, leaving the main body.

Some believe that the planet may have appeared in a protoplanetary disk before solar energy became stable. Then it should be twice as massive current state. When heated to 25,000-35,000 K, most of the rock could simply evaporate. Study the structure of Mercury in the photo.

There is one more assumption. The solar nebula could lead to an increase in particles that attacked the planet. Then the lighter ones moved away and were not used in the creation of Mercury.

When viewed from afar, the planet resembles earth satellite. The same crater landscape with plains and traces of lava flows. But here there is a greater variety of elements.

Mercury formed 4.6 billion years ago and came under fire an entire army asteroids and debris. There was no atmosphere, so the impacts left noticeable marks. But the planet remained active, so lava flows created plains.

The sizes of the craters range from small pits to basins hundreds of kilometers wide. The largest is Kaloris (Zary Plain) with a diameter of 1550 km. The impact was so strong that it led to a lava eruption on the opposite planetary side. And the crater itself is surrounded by a concentric ring 2 km high. About 15 large crater formations can be found on the surface. Take a close look at the diagram of Mercury's magnetic field.

The planet has a global magnetic field reaching 1.1% earthly power. It is possible that the source is a dynamo, reminiscent of our Earth. It is formed due to the rotation of a liquid core filled with iron.

This field is enough to resist stellar winds and form a magnetospheric layer. Its strength is enough to hold plasma from the wind, causing surface weathering.

Atmosphere and temperature of the planet Mercury

Due to its proximity to the Sun, the planet warms up too much, so it is not able to preserve the atmosphere. But scientists noted thin layer variable exosphere, represented by hydrogen, oxygen, helium, sodium, water vapor and potassium. General level pressure is approaching 10-14 bar.

Without an atmospheric layer, solar heat does not accumulate, so serious temperature fluctuations are observed on Mercury: on the sunny side - 427 ° C, and on the dark side it drops to -173 ° C.

However, the surface contains water ice and organic molecules. The fact is that the polar craters differ in depth and straight lines do not fall there. sun rays. It is believed that 10 14 – 10 15 kg of ice can be found at the bottom. There is no exact data yet on where the ice came from on the planet, but it could be a gift from fallen comets or it occurs due to the degassing of water from the planetary interior.

History of the study of the planet Mercury

A description of Mercury is not complete without a history of research. This planet is accessible for observation without the use of instruments, therefore it appears in myths and ancient legends. The first records were found in the Mul Apin tablet, which serves as astronomical and astrological Babylonian records.

These observations were made in the 14th century BC. and they talk about the “dancing planet” because Mercury moves the fastest. IN Ancient Greece it was called Stilbon (translated as “shine”). It was the messenger of Olympus. Then the Romans adopted this idea and gave modern name in honor of his pantheon.

Ptolemy mentioned several times in his works that planets are capable of passing in front of the Sun. But he did not include Mercury and Venus as examples because he considered them too small and inconspicuous.

The Chinese called it Chen Xin (“Hour Star”) and associated it with water and northern orientation. Moreover, in Asian culture this idea of ​​the planet is still preserved, which is even written down as the 5th element.

For the Germanic tribes, there was a connection with the god Odin. The Mayans saw four owls, two of which were responsible for the morning, and the other two for the evening.

One of the Islamic astronomers wrote about the geocentric orbital path back in the 11th century. In the 12th century, Ibn Bajya noted the transit of two tiny dark bodies in front of the Sun. Most likely he saw Venus and Mercury.

The Indian astronomer of Kerala Somayaji in the 15th century created a partial heliocentric model where Mercury orbited the Sun.

The first survey through a telescope dates back to the 17th century. Galileo Galilei did it. He then carefully studied the phases of Venus. But his device did not have enough power, so Mercury was left without attention. But the transit was noted by Pierre Gassendi in 1631.

Orbital phases were noticed by Giovanni Zupi in 1639. This was an important observation because it confirmed the rotation around the star and the correctness of the heliocentric model.

More accurate observations in the 1880s. contributed by Giovanni Schiaparelli. He believed that the orbital path took 88 days. In 1934, Eugios Antoniadi created a detailed map of the surface of Mercury.

Soviet scientists managed to intercept the first radar signal in 1962. Three years later, the Americans repeated the experiment and fixed the axial rotation at 59 days. Regular optical observations could not provide new information, but interferometers discovered chemical and physical characteristics subsurface layers.

First deep learning surface features carried out in 2000 by the Mount Wilson Observatory. Most of The maps were compiled using the Arecibo radar telescope, where the expansion reaches 5 km.

Exploration of the planet Mercury

Until the first flight of unmanned vehicles, we did not know much about morphological characteristics. Mariner was the first to go to Mercury in 1974-1975. He zoomed in three times and took a series of large-scale photographs.

But the device had a long orbital period, so with each approach it approached the same side. So the map made up only 45% of the entire area.

At the first approach, it was possible to detect a magnetic field. Subsequent approaches showed that it strongly resembles the Earth's, deflecting stellar winds.

In 1975, the device ran out of fuel and we lost contact. However, Mariner 10 can still orbit the Sun and visit Mercury.

The second messenger was MESSENGER. He had to understand density, magnetic field, geology, core structure and atmospheric features. For this purpose, special cameras were installed to guarantee highest resolution, and spectrometers noted the constituent elements.

MESSENGER launched in 2004 and has completed three flybys since 2008, making up for the territory lost by Mariner 10. In 2011, it moved to an elliptical planetary orbit and began filming the surface.

After this, the next year-long mission started. The last maneuver took place on April 24, 2015. After this, the fuel ran out, and on April 30 the satellite crashed onto the surface.

In 2016, ESA and JAXA teamed up to create BepiColombo, which is due to reach the planet in 2024. It has two probes that will study the magnetosphere as well as the surface in all wavelengths.

An enhanced image of Mercury created from MESSENGER camera images

Mercury – interesting planet, torn apart by extremes and contradictions. It has a molten surface and ice, there is no atmosphere, but there is a magnetosphere. We hope that future technologies will reveal more intriguing details. Be sure to check out what it looks like modern map surface of Mercury in high resolution.