7 Surprising Discoveries About Mercury: A Dynamic Planet with More Mysteries Than Expected

JAKARTA – For several years scientists have studied the planet Mercury. Several space missions have also visited the smallest planet in the solar system.

The two space probes that 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 the four years before it ran out of fuel and crashed into the planet’s surface on April 30, 2015. Meanwhile, the BepiColombo space probe is expected to reach Mercury in 2025.

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

But Mercury has been 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 the diameter of the Moon, but the mass of Mercury is more than four times that of the Earth’s natural satellite. In fact, Mercury is the second most populous planet in the solar system after Earth. Mercury’s extreme density is due to its large iron core which makes up about 60 percent of the planet’s mass. In comparison, the volume fraction of the Earth’s core is only about 15%.

This unusual internal structure has given rise to several theories about the birth of Mercury. Scientists believe that the outer layers of Mercury could be moved by the sun or scattered by the solar wind. On the other hand, the young planet may have had a major impact that removed much of her soft outer layer, leaving behind a stronger core. Parts of Mercury’s mantle and crust remain today, indicating that it may not have been a direct accident.