Advertisement

Mercury

The Flyby of Mercury reveals water presence and eruptions, while highlighting the smallest planet's active magnetic field.

ByRazib Khan
Google NewsGoogle News Preferred Source

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news

Sign Up

Flyby of Mercury Answers Some Old Questions:

Advertisement

Mercury, the smallest planet, bakes in the heat of the Sun, but it has water in some form. It has volcanoes. It appears to have an active magnetic field generated by a molten iron core. And it has shrunk more than scientists thought.

More on Discover
Tainrakuasuchus bellator
The Crocodile’s First Fierce Relative Stalked Earth 240 Million Years Ago
Variety of black hole images
Future Black Hole Images Could Put Einstein’s Theory to the Ultimate Test
The Pleiades star cluster, or the Seven Sisters
The Seven Sisters Star Cluster Is 20 Times Larger Than We Thought
Artistic reconstruction of a newly hatched troodontid-like dinosaur
Dinosaur Eggshells Infused with Uranium Offer a New Way to Date Ancient Fossil Sites
meteor shower streaking over trees
The Leonid Meteor Shower Returns This November — How to See It
Fossilized dinosaur egg found in South America
70-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Egg Reveals Ancient Nesting Clues
neanderthal skull
Neanderthals Boasted Larger Jaws Than Humans Due to a Tiny Difference in DNA  
Enceladus moon
Hidden Heat on Saturn’s Icy Moon Could Help It Sustain Life
Is a sun a star or a planet?
Is a Sun a Star or a Planet? How We Know — and What Could Change
Electron atom structure
J.J. Thompson Discovered the Electron — And Unknowingly Electrified Science Forever
aguada fenix finds
The Largest and Oldest Known Maya Monument Could Symbolize a Model of the Universe
marree man in Australlia
A Two-Mile-Tall Man Is Carved Into the Australian Outback — But No One Saw It Happen

Stay Curious

JoinOur List

Sign up for our weekly science updates

View our Privacy Policy

SubscribeTo The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Subscribe
Advertisement

1 Free Article

Subscribe