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• MERCURY IN RETROGRADE MEANING FULL

Tap the magnifier icon in the lower part of the main screen, enter the planet’s name in the search field, and choose the corresponding result. Learn when to see the elusive planet with the Sky Tonight app. The planet often gets close to the Sun in the sky, so the sunlight outshines it.

Just type the name of a planet in the search field, and the app will show you its position in the sky. The easiest way to find Mercury in the sky is to use the planetary guide Star Walk 2. Since the planet is very close to the Sun, there are not many opportunities during a year to observe it. In the evening, look for the planet from April 2 to April 18, from July 27 to August 17, and then from November 20 to December 11. In 2023, Mercury will be visible in the morning sky from January 23 to February 13, from May 22 to June 12, and from September 16 to September 30. When is Mercury visible in the night sky? In 2023, Mercury will be in retrograde from April 21 to May 14, from August 23 to September 15, and from December 13 to January 1, 2024. The speedy little planet goes retrograde three or four times in a calendar year for about three weeks. You can read more about the phenomenon of retrograde motion in one of our recent articles. In reality, the planet doesn’t change its direction - this is only an optical illusion in the sky. Mercury is said to be in retrograde when it appears to go “backward” for observers from the Earth. Since Mercury’s surface is heavily cratered, it’s most likely ancient.

MERCURY IN RETROGRADE MEANING FULL

Another similarity with the Moon is that the planet’s dry and rocky surface is full of craters.Ĭraters are the results of impacts with asteroids or other space objects - the more craters a planet has, the older it is. By the way, Mercury’s core is about the same size as our Moon. It has a large iron core, which is about 61% of the planet’s volume (in comparison, the Earth’s core is only 16%), and a 400 kilometers (250 miles) thick outer shell. Since Mercury is a terrestrial planet, it’s mainly composed of iron, nickel, and silicate rock. In comparison, the second-fastest planet in our Solar System, Venus, has a speed of 35 km/s (21 mi/s). Thus it takes much longer for the Sun to appear in the same place again, and one solar day lasts almost twice as long as a year.Įven though it spins slowly, Mercury travels around the Sun faster than any other planet - at 47 km/s (29 mi/s). The same thing occurs in reverse at sunset. Due to the planet’s eccentric orbit, the Sun appears to rise twice: once, shortly before setting, and then again from some parts of the surface. However, its sunrises and sunsets are quite different from the Earth’s ones. The smallest planet spins slowly about its axis - one rotation takes 59 Earth days.

And here is another weird fact about Mercury: one year on this planet is twice shorter than a single day and takes 88 Earth days. How long is a day on Mercury?Ī solar day - the amount of time it takes the Sun to rise, set and rise to the same place again - on Mercury lasts about 176 Earth days. This happens because the smallest planet has almost no atmosphere to trap heat, and it quickly loses the energy received from the Sun during the daytime.Īlthough Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, it isn’t the hottest one (Venus is). It can range from −173 ☌ (−280 ☏) at night to 427 ☌ (800 ☏) during the day. The temperature of Mercury’s surface varies more than on any other planet in our Solar System. Cooling of its core has caused the entire planet to shrink, reducing Mercury’s volume by about 5-10 kilometers in radius. Surprisingly enough, this small planet got even smaller over time. To give you a better understanding of Mercury’s size, let’s say that it’s only a third larger than the Moon. It’s 18 times less massive than the Earth, and its diameter barely reaches two-fifths of the Earth’s size.

Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System in both mass and diameter. Average distance from the Earth: 77 million km (48 million miles).

Perihelion: 46.0 million km (28.6 million miles).Aphelion: 69.8 million km (43.4 million miles).What does the Sun look like from Mercury?.May 29: Mercury at greatest elongation west.May 1: Mercury at inferior solar conjunction.When is Mercury visible in the night sky?.Today we’ll tell you more about its peculiarities and explain how they affect this little planet. Mercury is very different from other planets in our Solar System.