This amazing planet got its name in honor of the god revered by the Romans, who patronizes trade. The god Mercury was swift. The name of the planet was not chosen by chance, because it moves faster than other planets in the sky.
Mercury belongs to the category of internal planets (since its orbit is located inside the orbit of the Earth) and is considered the smallest planet in the solar system. Not so long ago not much was known about him. Thanks to the spacecraft - “Messenger”, as well as “Marine 10” - scientists compiled a map of its surface. Mercury is a planet without natural satellites. It can be seen in the sky in the evening and morning periods, but, unfortunately, not always. Mercury has a mass of about twenty times less than the mass of our planet. The radius of Mercury is approximately 2,420 kilometers.
“Solar wind” created a helium rarefied atmosphere on the surface of this planet. There is a very small amount of hydrogen in the atmosphere of Mercury , as well as traces of inert gases such as neon and argon. Thanks to research on spacecraft, it turned out that the magnetic field of the planet is very weak. It is weaker than the earth once a hundred. Due to its position closer to the Sun than the Earth, the celestial body is more exposed to the luminary. The temperature on the illuminated surface is hundreds of degrees above 0, while on the shadow side of the planet there is a temperature of - 170 degrees. Due to the good thermal insulation properties of the surface layer of Mercury, the temperature at a depth of about a few decimeters from the surface is always stable and is about 80 degrees.
Since on Mercury the acceleration of gravity is three times less than on our planet, the weight of the astronaut who is there will be three times less than on Earth. Its orbit has an elongated shape. The planet Mercury moves very fast in orbit, it makes a revolution around the Sun in just 88 Earth days, which is 0.24 Earth years. But around the axis the celestial body moves slowly, one revolution of it is equal to 58.6 earth days.
The orbital and axial motion of the planet are added, and this leads to the fact that the duration of the solar days of this planet is 176 Earth days, and this is two Mercury years. This phenomenon can be considered as a unique case in the planetary system, because two years pass in a day. The planet Mercury rushes along the orbit, but very lazily turns around its axis. As a result of the uniformity of the speed of rotation of Mercury around its axis and the uneven speed of its movement in the orbit, for a person observing this planet using optical instruments, the effect may appear as if the sun rises twice on the planet. This effect was named for Joshua, the biblical character who once stopped the sun.
For one earthly year, the planet Mercury makes four revolutions around the Sun, and also rotates about its axis six times. During the earth year, according to observers from the Earth, the planet makes three revolutions around the Sun and five times rotates around its axis. It can be concluded that such a coincidence led to the fact that, according to astronomers who lived at the beginning of the twentieth century, Mercury “looks” at the Sun on one side.
In astrology, Mercury is a planet of communication, intelligence, wisdom. She leads the mind and consciousness, affects memory and perception. Mercury patronizes the bodies that are responsible for the perception of information, as well as travel and transport. One of its main functions is the formation of thinking, the purposefulness of mental energy.
A person who has Mercury in his horoscope is characterized by a desire for communication, the ability to clearly formulate and communicate his thoughts, and a high level of intelligence. When the planet is in the most harmonious arrangement, a person becomes more eloquent, his abilities necessary for processing and receiving information are strengthened. At the same time, Mercury protects travelers and promotes a good voice. People under his patronage quite often become artists, singers, love public performances.
In addition to its good qualities, the planet Mercury also endows people with negative traits. They are manifested in a tendency to conflict, resourcefulness, sarcasticity and lies.
Whether a person is endowed with certain qualities depends more on the position of Mercury in the birth chart.