About Mercury, the conditions existing on this planet, and its mysteries, in particular, the long deep gorges Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun, known to mankind since ancient times. The fact that this is the smallest of the planets revolving around our star was established back in the Middle Ages. Rough observations made in the early nineteenth century served as the basis for the erroneous theory that Mercury is constantly facing the same side to Earth. Later, some astronomers believed that there are ice caps on Mercury. This assumption also turned out to be wrong. The reason is that our star heats its nearest planet to 1400 degrees Celsius at its equator, and a stream of incandescent plasma - the solar wind - bombards its surface with a hurricane force.
Scientific controversy has arisen around questions about whether Mercury has its own atmosphere, as well as about its daily cycles. At present, the presence of a very rarefied atmosphere, the thickness of which is insignificant, has been established.
The automatic probe "Mariner-10" helped to establish the truth.
The shooting lasted about 40 hours. As a result, photographs of approximately 40% of the surface of Mercury were transferred. Before the eyes of scientists appeared a black hot surface, pitted with craters from impacts of meteorites. The diameter of the fall track of one of the celestial bodies reached several tens of kilometers. An unexpected discovery was the discovery of gorges up to four thousand meters deep, which stretch for hundreds and thousands of kilometers. Mercury is literally dotted with a network of bottomless gorges. A similar picture is not observed in other celestial bodies of the solar system.
The atmospheric layer of Mercury is not like the gas envelopes of other planets and is mainly formed by the vapor of potassium and sodium. Helium, carried by the solar wind, is also present in it. But this inert gas quickly evaporates into interplanetary space. Mercury has its own magnetic field generated by a liquid metal core, 70% composed of iron. Theories have been put forward that there are lakes of liquid metal on the planet. However, Mariner-10 did not find them. There were no signs of life there either.
Many mysteries of Mercury are still shrouded in a veil of secrecy. In particular, the reasons for the formation of deep gorges on its surface are not clear. The temperature of the planet's surface has not been reliably established.
After certain periods of time, a group of comets approaches the Sun, making adjustments to the orbit of Mercury. The planet passes through their tails, with meteorite debris falling on its surface, forming many craters. However, the sun has the greatest influence on the fate of Mercury. From the fate of being absorbed by the upper incandescent layers of the daylight, the planet nearest to it is saved by the high frequency of revolution around the star. The Mercury year is equal to 176 Earth days.
Astronomers believe that over time, the orbit of Mercury will turn from elliptical to spiral, and the planet will be absorbed by the Sun.
