Mercury, First Planet From the Sun: Latest Discoveries

Mercury is our solar system's smallest planet.

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Genius Bot: Chat with 'Einstein' Via Facebook Messenger

April 21, 2017 | Article

Chat with "Albert Einstein" using a Facebook Messenger chatbot, released just in time for the March for Science.
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Weird Landscape Shows That Mercury's No 'Dead' Planet

November 30, 2016 | Article

Although NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft is dead, the Mercury mission's data lives on.
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Mercuryquakes May Currently Shake Up the Tiny Planet

September 26, 2016 | Article

Mercury may still rumble with earthquakes, or "mercuryquakes," according to evidence found in cliffs on the planet's surface.
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Mercury Mystery Solved: Scientists Decode Planet's Weird Surface

August 29, 2016 | Article

Mercury has a very diverse surface, with some areas boasting young-looking terrain and others that are heavily cratered, but scientists couldn't explain why the planet's surface had such stark differences — until now.
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Rare Meteorites May Explain Mercury's Puzzling Surface Features

July 21, 2016 | Article

A rare type of meteorite found on Earth may have been a critical ingredient in the geologic recipe that shaped the surface of Mercury, new research shows.
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Messenger: New Views of Mercury

May 09, 2016 | Reference

NASA's Messenger mission spent several years mapping Mercury, which was poorly understood for decades.
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Gorgeous New Mercury Maps Showcase Planet's Striking Features

May 09, 2016 | Article

A stunning digital model of Mercury unveils the planet's striking landscape, while other new maps provide a closer look at the shadowed northern pole and reveal the highest and lowest points on the closest planet to the sun.
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The Transit of Mercury Across the Sun's Face Has Begun: First Videos

May 09, 2016 | Article

The planet Mercury is making its way across the face of the sun (as seen from Earth) in a rare transit event today (May 9). See our first video of the sight from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.
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Mercury's Global Topography Model Revealed In New Animation

May 06, 2016 | Video

The first global digital elevation model (DEM) of Mercury is displayed - regions with higher elevations are colored brown, yellow, and red. Lower elevations are colored blue and purple.
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Photos of Mercury from NASA's Messenger Spacecraft

April 12, 2016 | Image Album

NASA's Messenger spacecraft was the first dedicated to orbiting Mercury, the solar system's innermost planet. It studied Mercury from 2011 to 2015, when its mission ended.
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