Fictional depictions of Mercury, the innermost planet of the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

, have gone through three distinct phases. Before much was known about the planet, it received scant attention. Later, when it was incorrectly believed that it was

tidally locked Tidal locking between a pair of co-orbiting astronomical bodies occurs when one of the objects reaches a state where there is no longer any net change in its rotation rate over the course of a complete orbit. In the case where a tidally locked ...

with the

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

creating a permanent dayside and nightside, stories mainly focused on the conditions of the two sides and the narrow region of permanent twilight between. Since that misconception was dispelled in the 1960s, the planet has again received less attention from fiction writers, and stories have largely concentrated on the harsh environmental conditions that come from the planet's proximity to the Sun. A planet closer to the Sun than Mercury was once hypothesized to exist based on then-unexplained anomalies in Mercury's orbit that have since been explained by the effects of

general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity, and as Einstein's theory of gravity, is the differential geometry, geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of grav ...

. This hypothetical planet, Vulcan, has appeared in several stories.

Early depictions

Mercury's closeness to the

makes astronomical observations difficult, and throughout most of history little was consequently known about the planet, which was reflected in fiction writing. It has appeared as a setting in fiction since at least the 1622 work ' by

Giambattista Marino Giambattista Marino (also Giovan Battista Marini) (14 October 1569 – 26 March 1625) was a Neapolitan poet who was born in Naples. He is most famous for his epic '. The ''Cambridge History of Italian Literature'' thought him to be "one of ...

, which also visits the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

and

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

. The first novel focused specifically on Mercury was the 1750 novel '' Relation du Monde de Mercure'' (English title: ''The World of Mercury'') by Chevalier de Béthune, which is unusual for the time in not using the fictional extraterrestrial society for purposes of

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

utopian fiction Utopian and dystopian fiction are subgenres of speculative fiction that explore extreme forms of social and political structures. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that agrees with the author's ethos, having various attributes of another reality ...

. In W. S. Lach-Szyrma's 1883 novel '' Aleriel, or A Voyage to Other Worlds'', Mercurians are depicted as living in the planet's atmosphere. John Munro's 1897 novel '' A Trip to Venus'' portrays a brief visit to Mercury as well as Venus. The first English-language work of fiction set primarily on Mercury was William Wallace Cook's 1905 novel '' Adrift in the Unknown, or Adventures in a Queer Realm'', a satire on United States capitalism. Homer Eon Flint's 1919 short story " The Lord of Death" depicts the ruins of a previous civilization now extinct on Mercury.

Tidal locking

From 1893 to the 1960s, it was believed that Mercury was 1:1

with the Sun such that one side of Mercury was always in sunlight and the opposite side always in darkness, with a thin band of perpetual twilight in between; numerous works of fiction written in this period portray Mercury in this way. Examples include

Ray Cummings Ray Cummings (born Raymond King Cummings) (August 30, 1887 – January 23, 1957) was an American author of science fiction literature and comic books. Early life Cummings was born in New York City in 1887. He worked with Thomas Edison as a per ...

' 1930 novel '' Tama of the Light Country'' where the inhabitants of Mercury live their lives under an unmoving Sun,

Clark Ashton Smith Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an influential American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction stories and poetry, and an artist. He achieved early recognition in California (largely through the enthusiasm ...

's 1932 short story " The Immortals of Mercury" where there are two different hostile species on the planet,

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

's 1942 short story " Runaround" (later included in the 1950

fix-up A fix-up (or fixup) is a novel created from several short fiction stories that may or may not have been initially related or previously published. The stories may be edited for consistency, and sometimes new connecting material, such as a frame ...

novel ''

I, Robot ''I, Robot'' is a fixup collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines '' Super Science Stories'' and ''Astounding Science Fiction'' between 1940 and 1950 ...

'') where a robot is sent to retrieve critical supplies from the inhospitable dayside and malfunctions,

Hal Clement Harry Clement Stubbs (May 30, 1922 – October 29, 2003), better known by the pen name Hal Clement, was an American people, American science fiction writer and a leader of the hard science fiction subgenre. He also painted astronomically oriented ...

's 1953 novel '' Iceworld'' where aliens accustomed to much higher temperatures than those found on Earth set up camp on the hot dayside of Mercury, Asimov's 1956 short story " The Dying Night" where a character who has spent a long time on Mercury is used to there being areas in permanent darkness, Alan E. Nourse's 1956 short story " Brightside Crossing" which depicts an attempt to cross the illuminated side of the planet " because it's there" as a feat similar to the then-recent first successful ascent of Mount Everest in 1953,

Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson ( ; November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until his death in 2001. Anderson also wrote historical novels. He won the Hugo Award seven times an ...

's 1957 short story " Life Cycle" where there is a species that changes from female to male when it goes from the nightside to the dayside and vice versa,

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...

's 1959 novel ''

The Sirens of Titan ''The Sirens of Titan'' is a comic science fiction novel by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., first published in 1959. His second novel, it involves issues of free will, omniscience, and the overall purpose of human history, with much of the story revolving ...

'' where there are lifeforms in caves on the nightside that live off of vibrations, and 's 1963 novel '' Harpatkotav Shel Captain Yuno Al Ha'kochav Ha'mistori'' (English title: ''The Adventures of Captain Yuno on the Mysterious Planet'') where the inhabitants of the respective hemispheres are at war.

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His 1970 novel ''Ringworld'' won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus, Ditmar Award, Ditmar, and Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula award ...

's 1964 short story " The Coldest Place" depicts the nightside of Mercury and may be the last story of a tidally locked Mercury; between the time the story was written and when it was published, it was discovered that the planet is not tidally locked—it actually has a 3:2 spin–orbit resonance such that all sides regularly see daylight.

Modern depictions

Even after it was discovered that Mercury is not tidally locked with the Sun, some stories continued to use the juxtaposition of the hot daytime side facing the Sun and the cold nighttime side facing away as a

plot device A plot device or plot mechanism is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelief ...

; the 1982 short story " The Tortoise and O'Hare" by Grant Callin portrays an astronaut who struggles to stay on the night side of the terminator line in order to avoid dying from the heat of the dayside, and both the 1985 novel '' The Memory of Whiteness'' by

Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American science fiction writer best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. Many of his novels and stories have ecological, cultural, and political themes and feature scientists as heroes. Robinson has ...

and the 2008 novel '' Saturn's Children'' by

Charles Stross Charles David George "Charlie" Stross (born 18 October 1964) is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy. Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. Between 1994 and 2004, he was also an active writer for the magazine ' ...

depict cities that move to stay in the sunrise area where it is neither too hot nor too cold. In general, however, most modern stories focus on the generally harsh conditions of the planet. Said science fiction scholar

Gary Westfahl Gary Wesley Westfahl (born May 7, 1951) is an American writer and scholar of science fiction. He has written reviews for the ''Los Angeles Times'', '' The Internet Review of Science Fiction'' and Locus Online. He worked at the University of Cal ...

in 2021, "Barring some unexpected discovery, however, science-fictional visits to Mercury will probably remain uncommon". Other purposes for Mercury in modern

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

include as a base for studying the Sun, as in the 1980 novel '' Sundiver'' by

David Brin Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American science fiction author. He has won the Hugo Award, Hugo,

where humans attempt to determine whether there is

extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, or alien life (colloquially, aliens), is life that originates from another world rather than on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been scientifically conclusively detected. Such life might range from simple forms ...

inside the Sun. Similarly, the planet is used as a

solar power Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...

station in the 2005 novel '' Mercury'', part of

Ben Bova Benjamin William Bova (November 8, 1932November 29, 2020) was an American writer and editor. During a writing career of 60 years, he was the author of more than 120 works of science fact and fiction, an editor of ''Analog Science Fiction and Fac ...

's ''Grand Tour'' series. It is occasionally mined for minerals, as in the 1992 video game '' Star Control II'' and the 1994 short story " Cilia-of-Gold" by Stephen Baxter which also features life below the ice in a permanently shadowed region near one of the planet's poles. The 1973 novel ''

Rendezvous with Rama ''Rendezvous with Rama'' is a 1973 science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke. Set in the 2130s, the story involves a cylindrical alien starship that enters the Solar System. The story is told from the point of view of a group ...

'' by Arthur C. Clarke portrays the descendants of human colonists on Mercury, known as Hermians, as tough and paranoid. Several stories portray struggles against bureaucratic forces, as in the 1976 short story " Render unto Caesar" by Eric Vinicoff and Marcia Martin where a Mercurian colony resists United Nations influence in order to stay independent. A terraformed Mercury enclosed in an enormous man-made structure is depicted in the 2000 short story " Romance in Extended Time" by

Tom Purdom Thomas Edward Purdom (April 19, 1936 – January 14, 2024) was an American writer best known for science fiction and nonfiction. His story "Fossil Games" was a nominee for the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 2000. He has also done music criticis ...

. The terraforming of Mercury is also portrayed in the 2000 music album Deltron 3030 by the group of the same name. In the 2005 short story " Kath and Quicksilver" by Larry Niven and Brenda Cooper, Mercury is threatened by the expansion of the Sun. The animated television series ''

Invader Zim ''Invader Zim'' is an American animated science fiction horror comedy television series created by comic book writer and cartoonist Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon. The series centers on the titular character Zim (voiced by Richard Steven Ho ...

'' from the early 2000s depicts Mercury being turned into an enormous spacecraft. It serves as a backdrop in the 2007 film '' Sunshine'' when one spacecraft goes into orbit around Mercury before rendezvousing with another.

Vulcan

Anomalies in Mercury's orbit around the Sun led

Urbain Le Verrier Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier (; 11 March 1811 – 23 September 1877) was a French astronomer and mathematician who specialized in celestial mechanics and is best known for predicting the existence and position of Neptune using only mathematics. ...

to propose the existence of an unseen planet with an orbit interior to Mercury's exerting gravitational influence in 1859, similar to how irregularities in Uranus' orbit had led to his

discovery of Neptune The planet Neptune was mathematically predicted before it was directly observed. With a prediction by Urbain Le Verrier, telescopic observations confirming the existence of a major planet were made on the night of September 23–24, Autumnal Equ ...

in 1846. This hypothesized planet was dubbed "Vulcan", and featured in several works of fiction including the 1932 short story " The Hell Planet" by Leslie F. Stone where it is mined for resources, the 1936 short story " At the Center of Gravity" by

Ross Rocklynne Ross Rocklynne (February 21, 1913 – October 29, 1988) was the pseudonym, pen name used by Ross Louis Rocklin, an American science fiction authors, science fiction author active in the Golden Age of Science Fiction. He also wrote under the ...

where its hollow interior is visited, and the 1942 short story " Child of the Sun" by

Leigh Brackett Leigh Douglass Brackett (December 7, 1915 – March 24, 1978) was an American author and screenwriter. Nicknamed "the Queen of space opera, Space Opera", she was one of the most prominent female writers during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. ...

where it is inhabited by intelligent life. Mercury's orbital anomalies are now understood to be caused by the effects of

Early depictions

Tidal locking

Modern depictions

Vulcan

See also

References

Further reading