Mercury

👉 MERCURY

The Vietnamese name for Mercury, “Sao Thủy”, translates to “Water Star”, drawing from the “Water” element in the Chinese theory of the Five Elements (Ngũ Hành). In Western culture, Mercury is named after the Roman god Mercury-the swift messenger god-symbolizing the planet’s rapid movement.

Here are 10 facts about Mercury:

1. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. However, it is only the second hottest planet, as Venus has higher surface temperatures.

2. Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System. Despite its size, it is very dense and is the second most solid planet.

3. A single day on Mercury’s surface lasts 176 Earth days.

4. Your weight on Mercury would be only about 38% of your weight on Earth.

5. Nobody knows who first discovered Mercury.

6. Mercury is one of the five planets visible to the naked eye.

7. Only two spacecraft have ever visited Mercury. Because of its proximity to the Sun, Mercury is a difficult planet to explore.

8. Mercury’s surface is covered with craters, rocks, and impact basins formed over billions of years by collisions with meteoroids and comets.

9. Mercury goes into retrograde motion (a phenomenon in which Mercury appears to move backward in the sky compared to its usual orbit, from Earth’s perspective).

10. Mercury has no liquid water, but it does have ice. Due to its lack of atmosphere and extreme temperatures, Mercury cannot retain liquid water, but ice exists deep within some permanently shadowed craters.

Home sweet home! We’re from Mercury House, 4A+8A 👋

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