EVERY THING ABOUT PLANET MERCURY

By:
Michael Uzoma Michael

Designations
Pronunciation i / ˈ m ɜr k j ə r i /
Adjectives Mercurian, Hermian

Orbital characteristics
Epoch J2000

Aphelion
0.466 697 AU
69,816,900 km

Perihelion
0.307 499 AU
46,001,200 km

Semi-major axis
0.387 098 AU
57,909,050 km

Eccentricity0.205 630

Orbital period
87.969 1 d
0.240 846 yr

0.5 Mercury solar day

Synodic period115.88 d

Average orbital speed47.362 km/s

Mean anomaly174.796°

Inclination

7.005° to ecliptic

3.38° to Sun's equator

6.34° to invariable plane

Longitude of ascending

node48.331°

Argument of perihelion29.124°

Satellites : None

Physical characteristics

Mean radius
2439.7±1.0 km
0.3829Earths

Flattening 0

Surface area
7.48×107km2
0.147 Earths

Volume
6.083×1010km3
0.056 Earths

Mass
3.3022×1023kg
0.055 Earths

Mean density5.427 g/cm3

Surface gravity
3.7 m/s2
0.38 g

Moment of inertia factor0.346±0.014

Escape velocity4.25 km/s

Sidereal rotation period
58.646 d
1407.5 h

Equatorial rotation velocity10.

Axial tilt2.04′ ± 0.08′

North pole right ascension
18h44m2s
281.01°

North pole declination61.45°

Albedo
0.068 ( Bond)
0.142 ( geom.)

Surface temp.minmeanmax
0°N, 0°W 100 K340 K700 K
85°N, 0°W 80 K200 K380 K

Apparent magnitude−2.6 to 5.7

Angular diameter4.5–13″

Atmosphere
Surface pressuretrace

Composition by volume
42% molecular oxygen
29.0% sodium
22.0% hydrogen
6.0% helium
0.5% potassium

Trace amounts of argon, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, xenon, krypton, and neon.

WHAT IS MERCURY

140px-Mercury in color - Prockter07 centered 1

Mercury is the smallest and closest to the Sun of the eight planets in the Solar System, with an orbital period of about 88 Earthdays. Seen from Earth, it appears to move around its orbitin about 116 days, which is much faster than any other planet in the Solar System. It has no known natural satellites. The planet is named after the Roman deity Mercury, the messenger to the gods.
Because it has almost no atmosphere to retain heat, Mercury's surface experiences the greatest temperature variation of the planets in the Solar System, ranging from 100 K (−173 °C; −280 °F) at night to 700 K (427 °C; 800 °F) during the day at some equatorial regions.

The poles are constantly below 180 K (−93 °C; −136 °F). Mercury's axis has the smallest tiltof any of the Solar System's planets (about1⁄30of a degree), but it has the largest orbital eccentricity. At aphelion, Mercury is about 1.5 times as far from the Sun as it is at perihelion. Mercury's surface is heavily cratered and similar in appearance to the Moon, indicating that it has been geologically inactive for billions of years.
Mercury is gravitationally locked and rotates in a way that is unique in the Solar System. As seen relative to the fixed stars, it rotates on its axis exactly three times for every two revolutions it makes around the Sun.

As seen from the Sun, in a frame of referencethat rotates with the orbital motion, it appears to rotate only once every two Mercurian years. An observer on Mercury would therefore see only one day every two years.
Because Mercury orbits the Sun within Earth's orbit (as does Venus), it can appear in Earth's sky in the morning or the evening, but not in the middle of the night. Also, like Venus and the Moon, it displays a complete range of phasesas it moves around its orbit relative to Earth. Although Mercury can appear as a bright object when viewed from Earth, its proximity to the Sun makes it more difficult to see than Venus. Two spacecraft have visited Mercury: Mariner 10flew by in the 1970s; and MESSENGER, launched in 2004, orbited Mercury over 4,000 times in four years, before exhausting its fuel and crashing into the planet's surface on April 30, 2015.

NOTE:-

1.Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system -- only slightly larger than the Earth's moon.
2.It is the closest planet to the sun at a distance of about 58 million km (36 million miles) or 0.39 AU.

Picture of MESSENGER :- Messenger approach Mercury.

Internal structure of Mercury:

1. Crust: 100–300 km thick

2. Mantle: 600 km thick

3. Core: 1,800 km radius

Mercury-GravityAnomalies-Messenger-20150415

Gravity anomalies on Mercury—mass concentrations (red) suggest subsurface structure and evolution.

DEFINING THE INTERNAL STRUTURE OF MERCURY

Mercury is one of four terrestrial planets in the Solar System, and is a rocky body like Earth. It is the smallest planet in the Solar System, with an equatorial radiusof 2,439.7 kilometres (1,516.0 mi). Mercury is also smaller—albeit more massive—than the largest natural satellitesin the Solar System, Ganymedeand Titan.

Mercury consists of approximately 70% metallic and 30% silicatematerial. Mercury's density is the second highest in the Solar System at 5.427 g/cm3, only slightly less than Earth's density of 5.515 g/cm3. If the effect of gravitational compressionwere to be factored out, the materials of which Mercury is made would be denser, with an uncompressed density of 5.3 g/cm3versus Earth's 4.4 g/cm3.

Mercury's density can be used to infer details of its inner structure. Although Earth's high density results appreciably from gravitational compression, particularly at the core, Mercury is much smaller and its inner regions are not as compressed. Therefore, for it to have such a high density, its core must be large and rich in iron.

Geologists estimate that Mercury's core occupies about 42% of its volume; for Earth this proportion is 17%. Research published in 2007 suggests that Mercury has a molten core.
Surrounding the core is a 500–700 km mantleconsisting of silicates.
Based on data from theMariner 10 mission and Earth-based observation, Mercury's crustis estimated to be 100–300 km thick. One distinctive feature of Mercury's surface is the presence of numerous narrow ridges, extending up to several hundred kilometers in length. It is thought that these were formed as Mercury's core and mantle cooled and contracted at a time when the crust had already solidified. Mercury's core has a higher iron content than that of any other major planet in the Solar System, and several theories have been proposed to explain this. The most widely accepted theory is that Mercury originally had a metal-silicate ratio similar to common chondritemeteorites, thought to be typical of the Solar System's rocky matter, and a mass approximately 2.25 times its current mass. Early in the Solar System's history, Mercury may have been struck by a planetesimalof approximately 1/6 that mass and several thousand kilometers across. The impact would have stripped away much of the original crust and mantle, leaving the core behind as a relatively major component. A similar process, known as the giant impact hypothesis, has been proposed to explain the formation of the Moon.
Alternatively, Mercury may have formed from the solar nebulabefore the Sun's energy output had stabilized. It would initially have had twice its present mass, but as the protosuncontracted, temperatures near Mercury could have been between 2,500 and 3,500 K and possibly even as high as 10,000 K. Much of Mercury's surface rock could have been vaporized at such temperatures, forming an atmosphere of "rock vapor" that could have been carried away by the solar
A third hypothesis proposes that the solar nebulacaused dragon the particles from which Mercury was accreting, which meant that lighter particles were lost from the accreting material and not gathered by Mercury. Each hypothesis predicts a different surface composition, and two space missions, MESSENGERand BepiColombo, both will make observations to test them. MESSENGERhas found higher-than-expected potassium and sulfur levels on the surface, suggesting that the giant impact hypothesis and vaporization of the crust and mantle did not occur because potassium and sulfur would have been driven off by the extreme heat of these events.
The findings would seem to favor the third hypothesis; however, further analysis of the data is needed.

MERCURY GEOLOGY

600px-PIA19420-Mercury-NorthHem-Topography-MLA-Messenger-20150416

THE GEOLOGY OF MERCURYMercury's surface is similar in appearance to that of the Moon, showing extensive mare-like plains and heavy cratering, indicating that it has been geologically inactive for billions of years. Because knowledge of Mercury's geologyhas been based only on the 1975 Marinerflyby and terrestrialobservations, it is the least understood of the terrestrial planets. [ 20 ]As data from MESSENGERorbiter is processed, this knowledge will increase. For example, an unusual crater with radiating troughs has been discovered that scientists called "the spider". [It later received the name Apollodorus.
Albedofeatures are areas of markedly different reflectivity, as seen by telescopic observation. Mercury has dorsa (also called " wrinkle-ridges"), Moon-like highlands, montes (mountains), planitiae (plains), rupes (escarpments), and valles(valleys).

Names for features on Mercury come from a variety of sources. Names coming from people are limited to the deceased.

Craters

Craters of mercury

Volcanology 220px-Mercury weird terrain

Mercury weird Terrain Mercury - messenger

Mercury Messenger image Radar

Radar

Mercury surface 600px-PIA19423-Mercury-AbedinCrater-20150416

AMAZING FACTS ABOUT MERCURY

*A year on Mercury is just 88 days long:

One solar day (the time from noon to noon on the planet’s surface) on Mercury lasts the equivalent of 176 Earth days while the sidereal day (the time for 1 rotation in relation to a fixed point) lasts 59 Earth days. Mercury is nearly tidally locked to the Sun and over time this has slowed the rotation of the planet to almost match its orbit around the Sun. Mercury also has the highest orbital eccentricity of all the planets with its distance from the Sun ranging from 46 to 70 million km.

*Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System:

One of five planets visible with the naked eye a, Mercury is just 4,879 Kilometres across its equator, compared with 12,742 Kilometres for the Earth.

*Mercury is the second densest planet:

Even though the planet is small, Mercury is very dense. Each cubic centimetre has a density of 5.4 grams, with only the Earth having a higher density. This is largely due to Mercury being composed mainly of heavy metals and rock.

*Mercury has wrinkles:

As the iron core of the planet cooled and contracted, the surface of the planet became wrinkled. Scientist have named these wrinkles, Lobate Scarps. These Scarps can be up to a mile high and hundreds of miles long.

*Mercury has a molten core:

In recent years scientists from NASA have come to believe the solid iron core of Mercury could in fact be molten. Normally the core of smaller planets cools rapidly, but after extensive research, the results were not in line with those expected from a solid core. Scientists now believe the core to contain a lighter element such as sulphur, which would lower the melting temperature of the core material. It is estimated Mercury’s core makes up 42% of its volume, while the Earth’s core makes up 17%.

*Mercury is only the second hottest planet:

Despite being further from the Sun, Venusexperiences higher temperatures. The surface of Mercury which faces the Sun sees temperatures of up to 427°C, whilst on the alternate side this can be as low as -173°C.

Written By :-
Michael Uzoma Michael

Latest Musics Updats

2baba-Holy Holy X Tiwa Savage-All Over X A.I.-Burn Fat (Prod. by Kuvie) X Adekunle Gold x MoeLogo -Only Girl (prod. Lekaa Beats) X CDQ-Say Baba (Remix) ft. DJ Maphorisa X Zoro-Buy The Bar (ft. Falz) X Liana Banks -Table For One X Lil Uzi Vert -Fly Hoe X Lady Gaga -Perfect Illusion X R-Never Ever X Celine Dion -Recovering X Mac Miller ft Ariana Grande -My Favorite Part X The Fray-Singing Low X Jasmine Thompson-I Try X Tove Lo & Wiz Khalifa -Influence X Tyga & Desiigner -Gucci Snakes X Reekadobanks Ft. Falz-Biggy Man X Reekadobanks -Ladies And Gentlemen X Reekadobanks-Baby Oku X Reekadobanks-All Your Love X Reekadobanks -Change X Reekadobanks Ft. Kenny Blaq -Skit X Reekadobanks Ft. Vanessa-Move X Reekadobanks -Gbabe X Reekadobanks-Love My Baby X Reekadobanks -NA UR BOY X Reekadobanks -Ola Oluwa X Reekadobanks -Today X Reekadobanks -Dangote X Reekadobanks -Turn The Light On

Lates Videos/Movies Updates

StoneBwoy-Sapashini X Teyana Taylor-Champions Remix X Future-Married To The Game X Real Sociedad-vs-Real Madrid 0-3 Highlight Goals X Tottenham Hotspur-Liverpool 1-1 all goals highligh X Chelsea-vs-Burnley 3-0 highlights goals X Watford vs Arsenal 1-3 Goals Highlight X Hull City-vs-Manchester United 0 1 Goals Highlight X Real-Madrid-vs-Celta Vigo 2-1 Goals-Highlights X Manchester-City-3-1-West Ham United-EPL-2016 X Atletico-Bilbao-vs-Barcelona 0 1 X Portekiz-1-0 Fransa Goal Eder EURO2016 Final X Neymar-Repeats Ronaldo Dribble X Skills Show 2016 Vardy-Crazy Skill Show X Messi and Ronaldo -Football Skills

ping fast my blog, website, or RSS feed for Free

Uzomedia Ads

Share Your Story With The World Part of Uzomedia site) site owned and manage by Uzomedia..