Mercury

Latest about Mercury

a grey crater-marked planet on an empty black background

BepiColombo probe captures haunting Mercury image on 5th of 6 gravity assist flybys (photo)

By Brett Tingley published

The European-Japanese BepiColombo probe made a close flyby of Mercury on Dec. 1, 2024 and captured an image of the planet.

Mercury
A silver and blue sphere surrounded green loops representing magnetic field lines.

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.

Mercury
A shaded grey planet hangs in black space with the arms of a spacecraft hanging in the foreground.

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.

Mercury
a grey, cratered plnaet is cast in partial shadow. In the foreground, an arm from a spacecraft hangs from the top right.

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
On the left a blue and silver sphere on the right a large spherical diamond

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
an orange fiery orb flickers with loops of energy

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
a gray planet pockmarked with craters

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.

Mercury
a black metallic panel with a dial and multiple switches is shown at left, while a silver foldable shovel is shown at right.

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
a black and white view of a part of a planet covered in craters A close-up image of Mercury's surface, taken by NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft on October 8, 2008.

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.

Mercury
An image of the planet Mercury taken by the European BepiColombo spacecraft during a gravity-assist flyby.

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.

Mercury
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