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Mercury
Mercury -
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. Mercury is named after the fleet-footed messenger of the Roman gods.
This is appropriate because the planet appears to move more quickly against the background stars than the other planets.
In Roman mythology, Mercury was a major god of trade, profit and commerce. He was the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter. Most of his characteristics and mythology were borrowed from the Greek god Hermes.
A sculpture of the Roman god Mercury by 17th-century Flemish artist Artus Quellinus.
Mercury’s external appearance is similar to Earth’s moon, with many craters and no substantial atmosphere.
Mercury has a highly eccentric orbit.
Interestingly, Mercury is trapped in a 3:2 spin-orbit resonance with the Sun. This means that the planet rotates on its axis three times for every two orbits of the Sun.
Advance of Perihelion
The point in Mercury's orbit at which the planet is closest to the Sun ( Mercury’s perihelion) moves a small amount every orbit. It has long been known that it moves too much to be accounted for by the gravitational influence of other planets. The observation of these changes in Mercury's perihelion was one of the first confirmations of Einstein’s theory of relativity, which predicted their existence.
Home > The Solar System > Mercury << Back
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