Mercury is not a foreign planet for Earth people. Compared to Venus, this planet is a bit difficult to find because it is too close to the Sun. But who would have thought, if this planet is so famous, even Ancient people like the Babylonians knew Mercury by the name Nabu.
Mercury’s proximity to the Sun in fact also creates many rare phenomena that can only be found on this planet. What are the phenomena? Reported Mental FlossHere are 5 rare phenomena that only exist on the planet Mercury!
1. Mercury is not the hottest planet in the Solar System
We all know how close the Sun and Mercury are. Mercury’s distance from the Sun is only 57 million km, which automatically makes this one planet the Sun’s closest neighbour. Logically, Mercury should also be the planet with the highest temperature in the Solar System.
But in fact, it was Venus who won the title. Eits, make no mistake! Mercury is also very hot. The temperature of the planet can reach 430 degrees Celsius during the day, and drop to -180 degrees Celsius at night. Even so, Mercury’s condition is arguably much better than Venus.
The reason is that Mercury does not have thick clouds that can trap the Sun’s rays, and turn its surface into hell.
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2. Mercury’s sky is always dark
image of the surface of the planet Mercury taken by NASA’s Messenger plane (messenger.jhuapl.edu)–
The existence of the sun makes planet Earth bright, at least during the day. So what about Mercury? Given its close proximity, most of us might think that Mercury’s surface is very bright, even much brighter than Earth’s. In fact the surface of this one planet is always dark, even during the day.
Reported Space, just like our Earth, Mercury also has an atmosphere. The difference is that the atmosphere on this planet is very thin, so it is unable to absorb and scatter light. The situation is exacerbated by the absence of natural satellites on the planet, making the surface of Mercury always surrounded by darkness.
Also Read: 5 Facts about the Planet Mercury, the Nearest Planet from the Sun
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3. One day is much longer than a year
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illustration of the orbits of the planets in the Solar System (eso.org)–
Humans only have 24 hours in a day, but it’s a different story if you visit Mercury. On this tiny planet, a day lasts longer than a year. One day on Mercury lasts 176 days, while a year is equivalent to 88 Earth days. Weird?
To us, all of this clearly feels odd. But this ‘something odd’ is a perfectly normal condition for a planet like Mercury. Reported World Atlas, as the closest planet, Mercury has the smallest orbit than its neighboring planets.
Now because of the small orbit, Mercury can circle the Sun much faster than other planets. For your information, Mercury moves at a speed of 112,000 meters in just one hour. On the other hand, the existence of the Sun also makes the planet’s evolution very slow. It was so slow that it took a very long day there.
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4. The sun moves in a strange way on Mercury
illustration of the sun in the sky Mercury (unsplash.com/Mourya)–
Just like Earth, the sun on Mercury rises in the east and sets in the west. But what makes it different is the movement. Reported Space, after rising, the Sun begins to move across the sky slowly. Halfway to the west, the Sun will stop for a while.
Surprisingly instead of moving forward, the Sun will actually retreat slightly to the east, before finally moving towards the west. Oh yes besides moving in a strange way, the size of the Sun is also 2.5 times larger than what we see from Earth. Understandably, the distance from the Sun to Mercury is much closer than any other planet in the Solar System.
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5. Mercury may have water on its surface
illustration of the polar regions on the planet Mercury (nasa.gov)–
Mercury has super extreme temperatures that can melt iron in an instant, with conditions that would be impossible if this planet had water. Reported Universe TodayHowever, experts argue that Mercury still stores water in frozen form, aka ice.
This ice is not on the surface of the planet, but is hidden under craters located at the planet’s poles. Unlike the smoldering regions of the planet Mercury, Mercury’s poles are very cold because they never receive any sunlight, so it’s natural for ice to survive in that region.
Apart from Mercury’s position as the number one, this one planet is indeed special. Just look at the various rare phenomena above, very special isn’t it?
Also read: 5 Evidence of Earth Similar to the Planets in the Solar System, Similar What?
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