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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.

Southwest Mercury

Explanation: The planet Mercury resembles a moon. Mercury 's old surface is heavily cratered like many moons. Mercury is larger than most moons but smaller than Jupiter 's moon Ganymede and Saturn 's moon Titan . Mercury is much denser and more massive than any moon, though, because it is made mostly of iron. In fact, the Earth is the only planet more dense. A visitor to Mercury's surface would see some strange sights. Because Mercury rotates exactly three times every two orbits around the Sun , and because Mercury 's orbit is so elliptical, a visitor to Mercury might see the Sun rise, stop in the sky, go back toward the rising horizon , stop again, and then set quickly over the other horizon. From Earth , Mercury's proximity to the Sun cause it to be visible only for a short time just after sunset or just before sunrise.

Date September 13, 1996
Credit Credit: Mariner 10, NASA
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.