Have you ever wondered why all the planets in our solar system orbit in the same plane? This fascinating characteristic of planetary orbits has intrigued astronomers for centuries. When we observe the ...

Scientists may have solved alongstanding mystery in the study of Mercury. For the first time, pieces of the Solar System’s innermost planet could be on Earth, potentially shedding light on a world ...

Mercury's orbit. Mercury speeds around the sun every 88 Earth days, traveling through space at nearly 112,000 mph (180,000 km/h), faster than any other planet.

Reaching Mercury is such a challenge because “the gravitational pull of the Sun is very strong near Mercury, which makes it difficult for spacecraft to slow down enough to enter orbit around the ...

Mercury’s orbit made its round faster than predicted. It didn’t race ahead. The precession was 93 percent accounted for, but no one could adequately explain that last seven percent.

Every century, the perihelion of Mercury’s elliptical orbit – the point where the planet is nearest to the Sun – rotates (or “advances”) by around 0.16°. The shift can mostly be explained by using ...

Mercury has been studied during flybys before, most notably by Mariner 10 in 1974-75, but Messenger is the first spacecraft to orbit the solar system's innermost planet.

Although Mariner 10 flew by Mercury in the 1970s and Messenger itself did some flybys of Mercury in 2008 and 2009, this is the first time ever a spacecraft has been in orbit around the planet.

One of the simulations found that if a flyby occurred tomorrow and pulled Neptune out of its orbit just by 0.1%, there could be catastrophic consequences for Mercury and Venus.

NASA's Messenger probe, newly arrived to orbit around Mercury, is preparing to snap its first photo of the planet from orbit Tuesday (March 29). Messenger's first picture will feature previously ...

Messenger probe closes in on Mercury. By Mike Wall. March 17, 2011 / 11:32 AM EDT / Space ... (March 17) and become the first spacecraft ever to enter into orbit around the planet Mercury. ...

Known as S2, it is the closest easily seen star to orbit Sagittarius A*. It makes a journey around the black hole every 16 years, and at its closest approach it is only 17 light hours away from ...