Mercury Flashcards
(29 cards)
Mercury is named for Roman deity who was that?
The Messenger of gods
Why is Mercury so hard to observe?
It’s so close to the Sun and can only be seen at certain times of the day.
Who are the features on Mercury named by?
Artists, writers, cultural figures
What is the surface feature that are cliffs formed when the planet cooled and shrank causing wrinkling?
Scarps
Which planet has the most elliptical orbit?
Mercury (Hg)
Why does Mercury not have an atmosphere?
Lose escape velocity
Why does Mercury have a weak magnetic field?
Slow rotation low core convection
What is Mercury’s period of rotation?
59 days
What is Mercury’s orbital period?
88 days
Who made the first telescopic observations of Mercury?
Galileo
Relate Mercury’s size and mass to Earth
1/3 and 1/10
What is odd about these detailed pictures of Mercury?
Only showed about 1/2 the planet
How many AU’s is Mercury from the Sun?
.04 AU’s
Mercury never exceeds which angular distance?
28 degrees
How long is Mercury visible for?
Less than 2 hours
When are the best images of Mercury taken?
Aphelion -max elongation
Why is there such a high temperature difference?
There’s no atmosphere
Which craft took the first pictures of Mercury?
Mariner 10
Explain Mercury’s spin-orbit resonance
3 rotations for every 2 revolutions
What is responsible for Mercury’s 3:2 resonance?
Suns tidal force Keplers 2nd Law
How old are the scarps?
4 billion years old
Name the result of the great geologic event on Mercury.
Caloris Basin
What is the axial tilt?
0
How many moons does Mercury have?
0
