Mercury
Latest about Mercury
BepiColombo spacecraft's flyby of Mercury begins unraveling the planet's magnetic mystery
By Robert Lea published
The secrets of Mercury's strange magnetic bubble are gradually being unlocked by the BepiColombo spacecraft as it makes its rapid flybys of the world.
Magnetic mystery at Mercury revealed by BepiColombo probe (video)
By Sharmila Kuthunur published
The BepiColombo probe's flybys of Mercury have revealed just how sharply and rapidly the planet's local environment changes in response to the solar wind.
BepiColombo probe captures stunning Mercury images in closest flyby yet
By Andrew Jones published
BepiColombo made a close flyby of Mercury on Sept. 4, getting just 103 miles (165 kilometers) above the planet.
Mercury has a layer of diamond 10 miles thick, NASA spacecraft finds
By Robert Lea published
Using data from NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft, scientists have determined that the solar system's tiniest planet, Mercury, hides a not-so-tiny secret: a 10-mile-thick mantle of diamond.
Mercury slammed by gargantuan eruption from the sun's hidden far side, possibly triggering 'X-ray auroras'
By Harry Baker published
A gigantic plasma eruption from the sun's hidden far side recently launched a sizable coronal mass ejection that slammed into Mercury, potentially triggering invisible X-ray auroras around the planet's rocky surface.
Mercury is home to exotic glaciers of salt, and they may host life beneath them
By Robert Lea published
Salt glaciers uncovered on Mercury, the second planet from the sun, could have implications for the habitability of this tiny planet and similar worlds beyond the solar system.
Here's the (moon) scoop: Mercury 7-flown clock, Apollo lunar shovel up for auction
By Robert Z. Pearlman published
The clock is ticking on a space artifacts auction, though this time it is not just any timing device driving the bids. The 'satellite clock' from Scott Carpenter's Mercury capsule is up for sale.
Mercury was shrinking for at least 3 billion years — and it still might be today
By Stefanie Waldek published
New research indicates that Mercury's thermal contraction was still occurring as recently as 300 million years ago.
Watch Mercury roll by in a stunning sequence from BepiColombo probe (video)
By Tereza Pultarova published
The European-Japanese BepiColombo spacecraft took this stunning sequence of images of its target planet Mercury during a gravity assist flyby designed to alter its speed.
European probe captures stunning up-close views of planet Mercury during brief flyby (video, photos)
By Tereza Pultarova published
Europe's Mercury-bound probe BepiColombo made its third close flyby of its target planet on Monday (June 19), revealing a surface riddled with craters, including one that just received a name.
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