Mercury

Mercury is our solar system's smallest planet.

Related Topics: Earth, Venus, We Don't Planet 

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Mercury and the moon (lower right) portrayed close together in Earth's sky on May 2, 2022.

Don't miss Mercury shine with the crescent moon in tonight's sky!

By Elizabeth Howell published

The moon will point the way to the usually elusive Mercury tonight (May 2).

mother and daughter viewing night sky with a telescope

The brightest planets in May's night sky: How and when to see them

By Joe Rao published

Our May night sky viewing guide tells you which planets are visible in May's night sky and how you can see them.

The planet Mercury will be visible in the evening sky about 40 minutes after sunset in the late April 2022 night sky.

Elusive planet Mercury will shine after sunset in the April 2022 evening sky

By Joe Rao published

Mercury will join the evening sky of April after sunset starting on April 16. Here's how to see it.

Mercury transits the sun on Nov. 11, 2019.

The sun has blasted Mercury with a plasma wave

By Ben Turner published

The wave likely scoured the surface of the weakly magnetic planet.

A false-color image of Mercury taken by the MESSENGER spacecraft highlights the physical variation across the planet.

Mercury: The smallest and closest planet to the sun

By Charles Q. Choi, Scott Dutfield published

Reference Planet Mercury is the sun's nearest planetary neighbor. It has short years, long days, huge surface temperature fluctuations and really weird sunsets.

The moon, Mercury and Saturn all meet up in the sky on Feb. 28, 2022. Also visible are Venus and Mars.

The moon meets up with Mercury and Saturn early Monday morning

By Elizabeth Howell published

You may be able to watch the moon cluster up with ringed Saturn and fleeting Mercury on Monday (Feb. 28), but it will be a considerable challenge.

This sky map shows the view from New York City just after sunset on Jan. 7, 2022.

Look up to spot the tricky planet Mercury at its 'greatest elongation' from the sun tonight

By Elizabeth Howell published

The planet Mercury, typically hard to spot for skywatchers, will be at its greatest distance from the sun in our sky Friday (Jan. 7).

Mercury will reach dichotomy, meaning the planet appears half-illuminated as seen from Earth, on Oct. 23, 2021.

How to spot the 'elusive' planet Mercury in the night sky this month

By Joe Rao published

For the next two and a half weeks, early-morning skywatchers will have an excellent opportunity to spot the so-called "elusive planet" — Mercury.

Artist impression of BepiColombo flying by Mercury on 1 October 2021.

First close-up pictures of Mercury from BepiColombo hint at answers to the planet's secrets

By David Rothery published

The BepiColombo spacecraft – a joint project by the European and Japanese space agencies – swung by its destination planet Mercury in the early hours of Oct. 2.

The joint European-Japanese BepiColombo spacecraft captured this view of Mercury on Oct. 1, 2021 during the first of six flybys on its voyage to orbit the planet in 2025.

Fly by Mercury with this stunning new video from the BepiColombo spacecraft

By Tereza Pultarova published

The European and Japanese BepiColombo spacecraft made the closest ever measurements of the magnetic field of Mercury above the planet's southern hemisphere as it zoomed past.

The joint European-Japanese BepiColombo spacecraft captured this view of Mercury on Oct. 1, 2021 during the first of six flybys on its voyage to orbit the planet in 2025.

Mercury looks stunning in this 1st flyby photo from Europe and Japan's BepiColombo mission

By Tariq Malik published

The BepiColombo mission captured its first up-close look at the planet Mercury in a flyby, revealing a rocky world covered with craters.

Artist impression of BepiColombo flying by Mercury on 1 October 2021.

Mercury flyby tonight: Europe's BepiColombo spacecraft to attempt its 1st swing past the planet

By Tereza Pultarova published

The Mercury-bound probe BepiColombo will take its first look at its target planet tonight from an incredibly close distance of only 124 miles (200 kilometers).

This sky map shows where Mercury will be visible from New York City at approximately 7 p.m. local time on Sept. 13, 2021.

Spot the elusive planet Mercury at its 'greatest elongation' from the sun this evening

By Hanneke Weitering published

Mercury, Venus and the first-quarter moon — along with the stars Spica and Arcturus — will appear to form a straight line in the evening sky on Sept. 13, 2021.

Mercury will be in conjunction with the crescent moon on Sept. 8, 2021, at 4:18 p.m. EDT (2018 GMT). The pair will be visible above the western horizon after sunset.

Mercury snuggles up to the crescent moon tonight

By Hanneke Weitering published

The tiny planet Mercury will make a close approach to the crescent moon in the evening sky tonight (Sept. 8).

Mercury and Venus will appear low in the western sky 30 minutes after sunset on Sept. 5, 2021 during September's new moon. The bright star Spica will be visible below and to the left of Venus.

How to see Venus shine with bright star Spica tonight and maybe spot Mercury, too

By Tariq Malik published

Venus and the bright star Spica will shine in the evening sky tonight (Sept. 5). Mercury is visible, too.

Titan's northernmost giant lake, Ligeia Mare, contains enough vinyl cyanide to form the cell membranes of ten million cells per cubic centimeter.

The five most impressive geological structures in the solar system

By David Rothery published

When we talk about amazing geological features, we often limit ourselves to those on Earth.

The European/Japanese spacecraft BepiColombo has taken a selfie with Venus during its close flyby at the planet in August 2021.

Watch the BepiColombo probe zoom by Venus on its way to Mercury in this new video

By Tereza Pultarova published

The European-Japanese BepiColombo spacecraft headed to Mercury can be seen flying low above the atmosphere of Venus in a new video released by the European Space Agency (ESA) on Thursday (Aug. 12).

The European/Japanese spacecraft BepiColombo has taken a selfie with Venus during its close flyby at the planet in August 2021.

Mercury-bound spacecraft snaps selfie with Venus in close flyby (photo)

By Tereza Pultarova published

Mercury-bound spacecraft BepiColombo has zoomed past Venus at a distance of only 340 miles, taking a bunch of selfies and a lot of scientific measurements of the planet’s atmosphere.

Mercury and Venus will appear close to each other just after sunset on Friday, May 28, in the west-northwestern sky. They may be difficult to spot. Look for Mercury to the left of Venus.

Mercury and Venus will be at their closest until 2033 tonight, but may be hard to spot

By Elizabeth Howell published

Venus and Mercury will meet in the evening sky Friday (May 28) for their closest encounter until Nov. 5, 2033.

Fifty years ago on May 5, 1961 only 23 day after Yuri Gagarin of the then-Soviet Union became the first person in space, NASA astronaut Alan Shepard launched at 9:34 a.m. EDT aboard his Freedom 7 capsule powered by a Redstone booster to become the first A

Photos: Freedom 7, America's 1st Human Spaceflight

By Space.com Staff published

Alan B. Shepard, Jr., made the first U.S. manned spaceflight on May 5, 1961.