7 Amazing Discoveries on the Planet Mercury

#Amazing #Discoveries #Planet #Mercury

Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system. (Photo: NASA)

JAKARTA – For many years scientists have studied the planet Mercury. A number of space missions have also visited the smallest planet in the solar system.

The two space probes that have visited Mercury are Mariner 10, which flew past the planet in 1974 and 1975. Then MESSENGER, which was launched in 2004 and has orbited Mercury more than 4,000 times in four years before running out of fuel and crashing into the planet’s surface. on April 30 2015. Meanwhile the BepiColombo space probe is expected to arrive at Mercury in 2025.

Mercury is very close to the Sun. Scientists speculate that this simple rock, which is only slightly thicker than Earth’s moon, would be completely destroyed by intense sunlight. Mercury is a hostile world. There is a temperature difference of almost 600 degrees Celsius between the day and night sides of the earth.

But Mercury has proven to be a world of contradictions and a dynamic planet with more surprises than scientists previously believed.

Here are the seven most surprising discoveries about the planet Mercury as reported by Smithsonianmag, Friday (19/4/2024):

1. Mercury is a metal

Mercury may be small, but it is heavy. The diameter of Mercury is slightly larger than that of the Moon, but Mercury’s mass is more than four times the mass of Earth’s natural satellite. In fact, Mercury is the second most populous planet in the solar system after Earth. Mercury’s extreme density is because it has a large iron core that makes up about 60 percent of the planet’s volume. In contrast, the volume fraction of the Earth’s core is only around 15%.

This unusual internal structure gave rise to several theories about the birth of Mercury. Scientists believe Mercury’s outer layers may have been vaporized by the sun or scattered by the solar wind. Alternatively, the young planet may have experienced a major impact that removed much of its soft outer layer, leaving behind its sturdier heart. Parts of Mercury’s mantle and crust still remain today, indicating that the impact may not have been a direct collision.