Mercury what is the surface like

However, another study suggested Mercury's volcano eruptions likely ended about 3. One study suggested that Mercury's surface features can generally be divided into two groups — one consisting of older material that melted at higher pressures at the core-mantle boundary, and the other of newer material that formed closer to Mercury's surface. Another study found that the dark hue of Mercury's surface is due to carbon.

This carbon wasn't deposited by impacting comets, as some researchers suspected — instead, it may be a remnant of the planet's primordial crust. A completely unexpected discovery made by Mariner 10 was that Mercury possessed a magnetic field.

Planets theoretically generate magnetic fields only if they spin quickly and possess a molten core. But Mercury takes 59 days to rotate and is so small — just roughly one-third Earth's size — that its core should have cooled off long ago. An unusual interior could help to explain the differences in Mercury's magnetic field when compared to Earth.

Russell co-authored a model that suggests that Mercury's iron core may be turning from liquid to solid at the core's outer boundary rather than the inner. The discovery in by Earth-based radar observations that Mercury's core may still be molten could help explain its magnetism, though the solar wind may play a role in dampening the planet's magnetic field.

The magnetic field in the solar wind — the charged particles streaming off the sun — periodically touches upon Mercury's field, creating powerful magnetic tornadoes that channel the fast, hot plasma of the solar wind down to the planet's surface. Instead of a substantial atmosphere, Mercury possesses an ultra-thin "exosphere" made up of atoms blasted off its surface by solar radiation, the solar wind and micrometeoroid impacts.

These quickly escape into space, forming a tail of particles , according to NASA. The atmosphere of Mercury is a " surface-bound exosphere , essentially a vacuum. Its oval-shaped orbit is highly elliptical, taking Mercury as close as 29 million miles 47 million km and as far as 43 million miles 70 million km from the sun. If one could stand on Mercury when it is nearest to the sun, it would appear more than three times as large as it does when viewed from Earth.

Oddly, due to Mercury's highly elliptical orbit and the 59 Earth-days or so it takes to rotate on its axis, when on the scorching surface of the planet, the sun appears to rise briefly, set, and rise again before it travels westward across the sky.

At sunset, the sun appears to set, rise again briefly, and then set again. In , a rare transit of Mercury happened , where the planet crossed the face of the sun as seen from Earth.

Most of Mercury's surface would appear greyish-brown to the human eye. The bright streaks are called "crater rays. The tremendous amount of energy that is released in such an impact digs a big hole in the ground, and also crushes a huge amount of rock under the point of impact.

Some of this crushed material is thrown far from the crater and then falls to the surface, forming the rays. Fine particles of crushed rock are more reflective than large pieces, so the rays look brighter. The space environment — dust impacts and solar-wind particles — causes the rays to darken with time.

Temperatures on Mercury are extreme. During the day, temperatures on the surface can reach degrees Fahrenheit degrees Celsius. Because the planet has no atmosphere to retain that heat, nighttime temperatures on the surface can drop to minus degrees Fahrenheit minus degrees Celsius. Mercury may have water ice at its north and south poles inside deep craters, but only in regions in permanent shadows.

In those shadows, it could be cold enough to preserve water ice despite the high temperatures on sunlit parts of the planet. Instead of an atmosphere, Mercury possesses a thin exosphere made up of atoms blasted off the surface by the solar wind and striking meteoroids. Mercury's exosphere is composed mostly of oxygen, sodium, hydrogen, helium, and potassium.

Mercury's magnetic field is offset relative to the planet's equator. When the ions strike the surface, they knock off neutrally charged atoms and send them on a loop high into the sky. Mercury Poster. Introduction The smallest planet in our solar system and nearest to the Sun, Mercury is only slightly larger than Earth's Moon. Namesake Namesake Mercury is appropriately named for the swiftest of the ancient Roman gods.

Potential for Life Potential for Life Mercury's environment is not conducive to life as we know it. A 3D model of Mercury, the innermost planet. JPL's lucky peanuts are an unofficial tradition at big mission events.

Full Moon Guide: October - November A new paper details how the hydrological cycle of the now-dry lake at Jezero Crater is more complicated than originally thought. This year, the minimum extent of Arctic sea ice dropped to 1. The lander cleared enough dust from one solar panel to keep its seismometer on through the summer, allowing scientists to study three big quakes.

The crater stretches about miles 1, kilometers across the planet's surface and is surrounded by a ring of mountains 1. Volcanic vents surrounding the basin's rim suggest that volcanism helped to shape the tiny world. Other evidence for volcanism includes several plains that smoothed over some of the first craters. Most of the plains are covered with craters, suggesting that volcanism took place long ago. The discovery suggests that Mercury remained active well after its birth.

One of Mercury's youngest impact basin, Rachmaninoff, is only about a billion years old. The km diameter peak-ring impact basin has smooth plains on its floor suggestive of lava flows. The lowest point on the planet lies within the basin. Although temperatures on the planet can reach as high as degrees Fahrenheit degrees Celsius , MESSENGER detected water-ice on its surface in the shaded portions of some of the polar craters, where the sun doesn't reach.

According to NASA , a mysterious dark organic matter covers some of the ice, leaving scientists puzzled. In addition to testifying as to the planet's early volcanism, the smooth plains also show evidence of wrinkle ridges, created as the planet squeezed together. This coming together most likely happened as the interior cooled. Although some compression is common among bodies in the solar system, the compression of Mercury as it pulled more tightly in on itself is the most significant yet seen.

Scientists estimate that the radius of the planet shrank by 0. A small body like Mercury would have a difficult time holding on to an atmosphere in the best of circumstances.

Because of the close distance between Mercury and the sun, Mercury also feels the brunt of the solar wind, which constantly sweeps away the thin atmosphere the planet does manage to gather. With only the most negligible of atmospheres, the temperatures on the night and day side differ dramatically. The thin atmosphere allows most cosmic rays to bombard the planet, stripping neutrons from elements lying on the surface.