A spacecraft got up close and personal with the surface of Mercury this week.
European Space Agency via AP
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European Space Agency via AP
A spacecraft skimmed past Mercury this week, beaming back stunning new images of the surface and showing once again that humankind has a seemingly insatiable longing to understand the universe.
A close-up photo of Mercury’s north pole taken by the spacecraft BepiColombo.
European Space Agency via AP
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European Space Agency via AP
Listen to NPR’s Short Wave podcast for more discoveries, everyday mysteries and the science behind the headlines.
Yes! There’s so much we still don’t know about the smallest, somewhat mysterious member of our solar system closest to the sun.
What we do know is that Mercury has an unusual composition. Like Earth, it has a metal core. But Mercury’s metal core takes up 80% of the planet.
As NPR’s Joe Palca reports, one of the most intriguing things about Mercury is that despite the blistering temperatures on the sunny parts of the planet — temperatures can reach 800 degrees Fahrenheit — there are places in craters near the poles that never see the sun.
Well, you know, there’s a lot of cool stuff going on.
Just recently there has been news of a pair of satellites creating artificial solar eclipses to study the sun; scientists preparing to receive signals from spacecraft after a historic close encounter with the sun; and an intrepid mission to retrieve rocks from the surface of Mars.
And this Sunday, a massive new rocket developed by Blue Origin — the private space firm founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos — is expected to launch (although it’s been delayed before, so don’t hold your breath).
For the rest of 2025, there will be supermoons, meteor showers and other exciting celestial events to look out for, which will all be conveniently compiled in one place for sky gazers everywhere.
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