Mercury orbit series#
Spacecraft speed up as they get closer to the Sun: to slow down, they need to perform a complicated series of gravity assist maneuvers around Earth, Venus, and Mercury itself. How Long Does It Take to Get to Mercury?Īlthough Mariner 10 reached Mercury in about five months, it was traveling too fast to go into orbit around the planet.
He also proposed the use of gravity assist maneuvers (see below) to visit the planet. This spacecraft is named after Giuseppe “Bepi” Colombo (1920-1984), an astronomer who discovered Mercury’s spin-orbit coupling. The latest-and still ongoing-mission to Mercury is BepiColombo. About four decades later, MESSENGER spent around four years orbiting Mercury before crashing into its surface on April 30, 2015. In 19, Mariner 10 made one flyby of Venus and three flybys of Mercury. There have only been three missions to Mercury. ©ESA-CNES-Arianespace Human Exploration of Mercury The BepiColombo mission to Mercury blasts off from Kourou in French Guiana on October 20, 2018. The next transit of Mercury-which can only be observed with specialized equipment-will be on November 12/13, 2032. The planet also produces its own mini-eclipses: 13 or 14 times a century, Mercury passes across the Sun’s disk. Mercury often comes clearly into view when the Moon completely covers the Sun during a total solar eclipse. How far is Mercury from Earth right now? Other Times to See Mercury Previous greatest elongation west: January 30, 2023 Previous superior conjunction: March 17, 2023 Previous greatest elongation east: April 11, 2023 Previous inferior conjunction: May 1, 2023 Next inferior conjunction: September 6, 2023 Next greatest elongation east: August 10, 2023 Next greatest elongation west: May 29, 2023 In between these times, Mercury’s swift orbit carries it either directly behind the Sun as seen from Earth ( superior conjunction), or in front of it ( inferior conjunction). Greatest elongation east is when the two bodies are farthest apart in the evening sky. Greatest elongation west is when Mercury is farthest from the Sun in the morning sky. These periods occur twice every 116 days or so (roughly every four months). The best time to catch Mercury is within a week or so of its greatest elongation: this is when Mercury appears to be at its farthest distance from Sun as seen from Earth. It can be seen with the naked eye shortly before sunrise or soon after sunset. Do not try to observe Mercury while any part of the Sun is above the horizon.īecause Mercury is small and lies close to the Sun, it is a challenge to observe. Warning: Never point binoculars or a telescope in the direction of the Sun-it can cause permanent eye damage. Mercury has almost no atmosphere, and its grey surface is covered with impact craters caused by asteroids and comets.įind and track Mercury with our Interactive Night Sky Map By contrast, Earth’s iron core accounts for only one-third of its mass.Ĭompare the sizes and order of the planetsĪ rocky outer shell surrounds the planet’s core. It has a large iron core that accounts for about three-quarters of its mass. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, and the smallest planet in the solar system. © NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington A Brief Overview of Mercury Mercury’s cratered surface gives it an appearance similar to our Moon. Business Date to Date (exclude holidays).
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