How many moons does Venus have?

There are dozens upon dozens of moons in the Solar System, ranging from airless worlds like Earth's Moon to those with an atmosphere (most notably, Saturn's Titan). Jupiter and Saturn have many moons each, and even Mars has ...

Ancient volcanic explosions shed light on Mercury's origins

Mercury was long thought to be lacking volatile compounds that cause explosive volcanism. That view started to change when the MESSENGER spacecraft returned pictures of pyroclastic deposits—the telltale signature of volcanic ...

Mercury contracted more than prior estimates, evidence shows

New evidence gathered by NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft at Mercury indicates the planet closest to the sun has shrunk up to 7 kilometers in radius over the past 4 billion years, much more than earlier estimates.

Explosive volcanoes light up Mercury's deep past

Mercury has long been a mystery to scientists. Until recently, knowledge of the planet was limited to the grey, patchy landscape revealed by the Mariner 10 probe, NASA's first mission to Mercury in the mid-1970s.

Mercury meteorite among world's rarest rocks

(Phys.org) —Talk about a precious stone—the largest piece of the only known meteorite from the planet Mercury has found its way to Yale, where it is now on display at the Peabody Museum of Natural History.

Two comets to fly by Mercury

What are the odds? On Nov. 18th and 19th not one but two comets will fly by the planet Mercury.

Image: Sunlit side of the planet Mercury

Another day, another beautiful view of Mercury's horizon. In this scene, which was acquired looking from the shadows toward the sunlit side of the planet, a 120-km (75 mi.) impact crater stands out near the center. Emanating ...

An explanation of the rotational state of Mercury

Planetary scientists announced a new explanation of the current rotational state of the planet Mercury. The report was presented by Dr. Benoit Noyelles of the University of Namur, Belgium, to the meeting of the Division for ...

Cassini shapes first global topographic map of Titan

(Phys.org) —Scientists have created the first global topographic map of Saturn's moon Titan, giving researchers a valuable tool for learning more about one of the most Earth-like and interesting worlds in the solar system. ...

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