From its orbits, to its temperatures, to its place in the grand scale of the solar system,
and more! Join me as we show you some facts and history about Mercury!
10. The History Of Mercury Before we really deep dive into the facts
about the planet, let's talk about the beginnings of the planet in terms of its discovery from
our perspective. Obviously Mercury was made billions of years ago, but when exactly did
we discover it? The earliest known recorded observations of
Mercury are from the Mul.Apin tablets. These observations were most likely made by an Assyrian
astronomer around the 14th century BC.[129] The cuneiform name used to designate Mercury
on the Mul.Apin tablets is translated as "the jumping planet". Babylonian records of Mercury
date back to the 1st millennium BC. The Babylonians called the planet Nabu after the messenger
to the gods in their mythology. Which is ironic because Mercury is the name of the messenger
God to the Roman pantheon. Many other civilizations found out about Mercury
in their own ways, including the ancient Greeks, Romans, Chinese, and even the Maya!
The first telescopic observations of Mercury were made by Galileo in the early 17th century.
Although he observed phases when he looked at Venus, his telescope was not powerful enough
to see the phases of Mercury. In 1631, Pierre Gassendi made the first telescopic observations
of the transit of a planet across the Sun when he saw a transit of Mercury predicted
by Johannes Kepler. In 1639, Giovanni Zupi used a telescope to discover that the planet
had orbital phases similar to Venus and the Moon. The observation demonstrated conclusively
that Mercury orbited around the Sun. In the 1880s, Giovanni Schiaparelli mapped the planet
more accurately and even perfectly detailed its orbital time around the sun.
As more time went on, more time was devoted to studying Mercury, including in the 1970's
when NASA launched the first craft to Mercury via the Mariner 10. The Messenger and the
BepiColombo would later follow in its footsteps (for the record the BepiColombo is set to
reach Mercury in 2025). Though there is a lot we still don't know
about Mercury, we do know a lot based on probes and pictures and studies that have tided us
over for the last few decades. Which is why Mercury, like the other planets is "well known
enough" to teach about. 9. Orbits and Rotations
Mercury is a very interesting planet in a whole host of ways, not the least of which
is because of the fact that it is indeed the closest planet to the sun. Because of this,
it has certain...perks, as well as disadvantages.First and foremost, it's the closest planet to the
sun and the second hottest planet in the solar system ( after Venus). It's only 29 million
miles from the sun at its closest. Now yes, I'm sure that this SEEMS like a long distance,
but when you're talking about the sun? A sun that is 860,000 miles in diameter? That's
not as far as you think. Because of this, it only takes about 88 days
for Mercury to have a year-long rotation around the sun (which is elliptical in nature for
the record), and as for how long a day is...well...that's where the twist comes in. Because you see,
a "day" is the amount of time it takes for a planet to rotate around its axis, right?
Well, for Mercury, it has a VERY slow rotation. To the extent that it actually takes over
58 Earth days just rotate around its axis...ONCE. Can I just say it? that's a REALLY long time!
In fact, if you do the math, that would mean that the "day count" for about a year on Mercury
is just over 1 1/2 days. That's some really weird planet calendar. But that's just how
Mercury is. 8. How Hot Does It Get There?
The surface temperature of Mercury ranges from 100 to 700 K (−173 to 427 °C; −280
to 800 °F) at the most extreme places. It never rises above 180 K at the poles, due
to the absence of an atmosphere and a steep temperature gradient between the equator and
the poles. The subsolar point reaches about 700 K during perihelion (0°W or 180°W),
but only 550 K at aphelion. On the dark side of the planet, temperatures average 110 K.
The intensity of sunlight on Mercury's surface ranges between 4.59 and 10.61 times the solar
constant. Although the daylight temperature at the surface
of Mercury is generally extremely high, observations strongly suggest that ice (frozen water) exists
on Mercury. The floors of deep craters at the poles are never exposed to direct sunlight,
and temperatures there remain below 102 K; far lower than the global average. Water ice
strongly reflects radar, and observations by the 70-meter Goldstone Solar System Radar
and the VLA in the early 1990s revealed that there are patches of high radar reflection
near the poles. Although ice was not the only possible cause of these reflective regions,
astronomers think it was the most likely. Regardless of that though, these extreme temperatures
are why Mercury is such a different planet compared to the rest of the solar system.
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7. The Atmosphere When thinking about a planet, one of the most
considered things is the atmosphere, because through that we get a look at how the surface
is affected and how life might be able to survive there.
Mercury is too small and hot for its gravity to retain any significant atmosphere over
long periods of time; it does have a tenuous surface-bounded exosphere containing hydrogen,
helium, oxygen, sodium, calcium, potassium and others at a surface pressure of less than
approximately 0.5 nPa (0.005 picobars). This exosphere is not stable—atoms are continuously
lost and replenished from a variety of sources. Hydrogen atoms and helium atoms probably come
from the solar wind, diffusing into Mercury's magnetosphere before later escaping back into
space. Radioactive decay of elements within Mercury's crust is another source of helium,
as well as sodium and potassium. Now, all of that being said, Mercury has a
significant, and apparently global, magnetic field. According to measurements taken by
Mariner 10, it is about 1.1% the strength of Earth's. The magnetic-field strength at
Mercury's equator is about 300 nT. Like that of Earth, Mercury's magnetic field is dipolar.
Unlike Earth's, Mercury's poles are nearly aligned with the planet's spin axis. Measurements
from both the Mariner 10 and MESSENGER space probes have indicated that the strength and
shape of the magnetic field are stable. It is likely that this magnetic field is generated
by a dynamo effect, in a manner similar to the magnetic field of Earth. This dynamo effect
would result from the circulation of the planet's iron-rich liquid core. Particularly strong
tidal effects caused by the planet's high orbital eccentricity would serve to keep the
core in the liquid state necessary for this dynamo effect.
6. Life On Mercury? Given some of the things we just talked about,
I'm sure it's a little weird for some of you that many think there could have been life
on Mercury at one point in time. And yet, it's true:
"There may be scientific support, based on studies reported in March 2020, for considering
that parts of the planet Mercury may have been habitable, and perhaps that life forms,
albeit likely primitive microorganisms, may have existed on the planet."
The keywords you have to remember here are "may have existed" and "parts of the planet
Mercury". Because while it is a planet that has a very rough surface and very fluctuating
temperatures, it's also a planet that is surprising in how it has both ice and water vapor. And
water is a key basis for life anywhere, including on Earth and on Mercury.
Granted, no actual proof has been found that life WAS on Mercury, or when it was there
and when it apparently died out, but if there is even a small chance that it was there at
one point, you can bet that people are going to look into it. Because if something can
live on Mercury, even in the smallest of forms, it gives many hope for life on many other
planets in the universe. 5. Mercury Is Big In Pop Culture
The smallest planet in our solar system has a big presence in our collective imagination.
Which is a bit interesting considering how much more popular the other planets are compared
to Mercury. Scores of science fiction writers have been inspired by Mercury, including Isaac
Asimov, C. S. Lewis, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke and H. P. Lovecraft. Television
and film writers, too, have found the planet an ideal location for storytelling. In the
animated television show Invader Zim, Mercury is turned into a prototype giant spaceship
by the extinct Martians. And in the 2007 film Sunshine, the Icarus II spacecraft goes into
orbit around Mercury to rendezvous with the Icarus I.
In the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin and his classmate Susie give a presentation
about Mercury, in which Calvin's contribution is full of questionable information: "The
planet Mercury was named after a Roman god with winged feet," says Calvin. "Mercury was
the god of flowers and bouquets, which is why today he is a registered trademark of
FTD florists. Why they named a planet after this guy, I can't imagine."
Despite Calvin's "analysis", Mercury has been used even more than that, which goes to show
that when it comes to storytelling, just about any planet is a viable option for something.
4. Natural Disasters Here's something you may not know, because
of its proximity to the sun, and the lack of a true atmosphere, Mercury has no seasons.
Not a single one. Which you would think would mean that Mercury doesn't have any "natural
disasters" happen to it like they are on Earth. But that is only half true.
Yes, in regards to things like rainstorms, or tornadoes, or hurricanes, Mercury will
never have to worry about those at all. However, in regards to Earthquakes, it is believed
to have them. But not in the way you're thinking. Earth has earthquakes because of Tectonic
Activity. But in regards to Mercury, it likely has earthquakes because the sun is quite literally
shrinking the planet via its gravitational pull.
What's more, because of the protective atmosphere (and a weaker magnetosphere than what Earth
has), Mercury is subjected to many different impacts from asteroids and meteors.
3. No Moons Or Rings It may seem rather obvious to indicate that
Mercury has no moon or no rings. But what makes that such an important fact is that
it's one of the few planets in our solar system that doesn't have a moon. Think about it,
how many planets in our solar system don't have a moon?
The answer is two. Mercury, and Venus. The reason they don't have a moon is honestly
very simple, because of how close they are to the sun, the gravitational pull of the
sun is much greater than the planets. Thus, even if an entity TRIED to make itself the
moon of one of these planets, the sun exertion would pull it away.
This is the same reason they don't have rings, as any debris would be plucked away by the
sun. 2. Gravity
Another major thing that is thought about when it comes to planets we might colonize
is gravity. How much gravity a planet exerts will drastically affect its inhabitants and
the planet itself. In the case of Mercury, the planet is one that has gravity 62% less
than that of Earth. Which means that if you weighed 100 pounds on Earth and somehow got
to Mercury, your body weight (not including the spacesuit of course) would equal just
38 pounds. That means that you would be able to go and
jump VERY high on the surface of the planet. But, it also means that because of the reduced
gravity you would have to work very hard in order to ensure that your bones don't become
brittle and weak due to the lesser forces exerted on it.
1. Could We Live On Mercury? One of humanities greatest things is the ability
to think about possibilities, and when it comes to space, the possibility that everyone
talks about is being able to live on other planets. Most agree that Mars is going to
be the first planet we colonize, but what about Mercury? Could we live there?
Technically speaking, we could, if we had the right amount of technology, it would be
possible to shield ourselves from the sun and the massively fluctuating temperatures.
Which would be one of the biggest initial hurdles for colonizing there.
However, the disadvantages of trying to live there FAR outweigh any plusses. True, we would
have almost unlimited solar power, so that would be a plus. However, with no long-term
atmosphere (as noted earlier), a planet that is only 2/5 the size of Earth, the tidally
locked rotation, the supreme lack of gravity, soil that very likely won't support growth
of crops and more, we'd have an even harder time colonizing Mercury than we would colonizing
Mars. And colonizing Mars is going to be quite an endeavor.
Could it be possible one day to colonize Mercury? Absolutely. With the right technology anything
is possible But WILL we colonize Mercury? That's another story.
Thanks for watching everyone! What did you think of these facts about Mercury and the
history of how we can to learn more about the planet? Do you feel like you know more
about the planet than you did before? What was your favorite fact or figure about it?
Let me know in the comments below, be sure to subscribe, and I'll see you next time on
the channel