The following

outline Outline or outlining may refer to: * Outline (list), a document summary, in hierarchical list format * Code folding, a method of hiding or collapsing code or text to see content in outline form * Outline drawing, a sketch depicting the outer edge ...

is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Mercury:

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

– smallest and innermost

planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

in 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 "Solar S ...

. Its

orbital period The orbital period (also revolution period) is the amount of time a given astronomical object takes to complete one orbit around another object. In astronomy, it usually applies to planets or asteroids orbiting the Sun, moons orbiting planets ...

(about 88

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

days) is less than any other planet in the Solar System. Seen from Earth, it appears to move around its

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as a p ...

in about 116 days. It has no known natural satellites. It is named after the

Roman deity The Roman deities most widely known today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts (see ''interpretatio graeca''), integrating Greek myths, iconography, and sometimes religious practices into Roman culture, including Latin litera ...

, the messenger to the gods.

Classification of Mercury

Astronomical object An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe. In astronomy, the terms ''object'' and ''body'' are often us ...

** Gravitationally rounded object ***

Planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

**** Planet of the Solar System *****

Inferior planet In the Solar System, a planet is said to be inferior or interior with respect to another planet if its orbit lies inside the other planet's orbit around the Sun. In this situation, the latter planet is said to be superior to the former. In the ref ...

***** Inner planet **** Terrestrial planet

Location of Mercury

* Milky Way Galaxy – barred spiral galaxy **

Orion Arm The Orion Arm is a minor spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy that is across and approximately in length, containing the Solar System, including Earth. It is also referred to by its full name, the Orion–Cygnus Arm, as well as Local Arm, Orion ...

– a spiral arm of the Milky Way ***

– the Sun and the objects that orbit it, including 8 planets, the planet closest to the Sun being Mercury **** Mercury's orbit

Movement of Mercury

* Mercury's orbit and rotation *

Transit of Mercury frameless, upright=0.5 A transit of Mercury across the Sun takes place when the planet Mercury passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet. During a transit, Mercury appears as a tiny black dot moving across the Sun as the planet obs ...

Features of Mercury

Mercury's magnetic field Mercury's magnetic field is approximately a magnetic dipole (meaning the field has only two magnetic poles) apparently global, on planet Mercury. Data from ''Mariner 10'' led to its discovery in 1974; the spacecraft measured the field's strengt ...

Atmosphere of Mercury Mercury, being the closest to the Sun, with a weak magnetic field and the smallest mass of the recognized terrestrial planets, has a very tenuous and highly variable atmosphere (surface-bound exosphere) containing hydrogen, helium, oxygen, sodi ...

* Mercury's extraterrestrial sky * Geology of Mercury ** Geological features on Mercury *** Craters on Mercury ****

Ghost craters on Mercury Ghost craters on the planet Mercury have tectonic features such as graben and wrinkle ridges. These features were formed by extensional and contractional forces originating in tectonic processes such as uplift and global contraction. The combinati ...

***

Inter-crater plains on Mercury Inter-crater plains on Mercury are a land-form consisting of plains between craters on Mercury. Of the eight planets in the Solar System, Mercury is the smallest and closest to the Sun. The surface of this planet is similar to the Moon in that i ...

* Albedo features on Mercury * Quadrangles on Mercury

Natural satellites of Mercury

* Hypothetical moon of Mercury

History of Mercury

History of Mercury – *

Pre-Tolstojan Pre-Tolstojan, also Pretolstojan Period, refers to the oldest period of the history of Mercury, 4500–3900 MYA. It is the "first period of the Eomercurian Era and of the Mercurian Eon, as well as being the first period in Mercury's geologic h ...

– * Tests of general relativity – * Mercury-crossing minor planets –

Exploration of Mercury

Exploration of Mercury The exploration of Mercury has a minor role in the space interests of the world. It is the least explored inner planet.JHU/APL (2006)MESSENGER: MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and RangingRetrieved on 2007-01-27 As of 2015, the ' ...

–

Flyby missions to explore Mercury

* ''

Mariner 10 ''Mariner 10'' was an American Robotic spacecraft, robotic space probe launched by NASA on 3 November 1973, to fly by the planets Mercury (planet), Mercury and Venus. It was the first spacecraft to perform flybys of multiple planets. ''Ma ...

'' –

Direct missions to explore Mercury

* ''

MESSENGER ''MESSENGER'' was a NASA robotic space probe that orbited the planet Mercury between 2011 and 2015, studying Mercury's chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field. The name is a backronym for "Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geoche ...

'' –

Future of Mercury exploration

Proposed missions to explore Mercury

* BepiColombo * Mercury-P *

Colonization of Mercury Space colonization (also called space settlement or extraterrestrial colonization) is the use of outer space or celestial bodies other than Earth for permanent habitation or as extraterrestrial territory. The inhabitation and territoria ...

Mercury in popular culture

Mercury in fiction Fictional depictions of Mercury, the innermost planet of the Solar System, 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 ...

References

External links

Mariner 10 Atlas of Mercury – NASA

Mercury nomenclature
an
map with feature names
from the USGS planetary nomenclature page
''MESSENGER'' Mission web site

Mercury QuickMap from ''MESSENGER'' web site

'BepiColombo', ESA's Mercury Mission
5 June 2013 {{Outline footer Outline