Discovery of Planet Mercury? - By: Tauqeer Hassan

Mercury is found Babylonian and Sumerian writings over 3000 years ago. It is also mentioned in the tombs of Egypt, ancient China and India. The evidence is traced back in the 1500 BC. Mercury is not easy to see because it does not present far from sun. The early astronomers faced this same problem.

Apollo and Hermes were the two names given to Mercury by the Ancient Egyptians. The present name was given by the Romans as it moves fast after sunset and before dawn.
Johann Hieronymus Schroeter observed the planet first in recent history. He kept a record of his observations and observed the planet till his death in 1816. Today’s standards prove his illustrations to be incorrect.

Same dark streaks on the surface of Mercury were seen by Schia and Percival Lowell. They believed them to be the same canals that were seen on Mars. With the use of stronger telescope, Eugenios Antoniadi mapped the surface of Mercury in detail. His maps were very accurate and were used for the next half century. The Maritan canals were proved to be optical illusions. Today, the Mariner 10 takes images of Mercury.

Mercury is a planet that is hot and harsh. Its surface has a battered past and there are huge craters present and there are also traces of lava. The biggest crater of Mercury is called Beethoven and it diameter measures 643 kilometers. It was believed to be formed by gigantic object that crashed on Mercury. Despite being hot, it also has craters with ice. This is because sun is unable to reach some of the parts when the planet tilts and orbits.

There is no atmosphere of Mercury. There is a temperature difference of 600 degrees between the hottest and coldest parts. It takes 88 days for Mercury to orbit around the sun. A year on Mercury lasts for a day and a half when compared with Earth. Mercury is closest to the sun and is the smallest planet of the solar system. Mercury is very small for gravity as an airless and dry planet. There are traces of sodium, helium, calcium, potassium and oxygen on the surface. The heat of Mercury burns its already thin atmosphere and is always replaced mysteriously. The sun strikes Mercury seven times more as it strikes the Earth. It has no moons.

Mercury will burn with the sun when it will reach its last days, including Earth.

About the Author

Learning about who discovered Mercury and also who discovered Jupiter would be very beneficial for you especially if you are a student of astrology.

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