Mercury doesn't really have an atmosphere. See no ads on this site, see our videos early, special bonus material, and much more. Scientists surmise that the most likely reason for this is due to the strong gravitational pull of the sun on the planet. The disk eventually becomes a big enough body that it may end up having a spherical shape. Karla Thompson – @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw In fact, Mercury is so close to the sun that it races around the star every 88 days. ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 The gravitational pull of the sun is very strong on Mercury simply because the planet is located very close to the sun. Here’s an article about the Martian moon Phobos might only have 10 million years to live, and here’s an article about what Saturn’s rings are made of. Only the gas planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune have rings and only those of Saturn are highly visible. Join our 836 patrons! For a few million years this crushed asteroid would appear as a ring around Mercury, until the chunks finally fell down onto the planet. It was later determined that the radiation was coming from a distant star, rather than a moon. And More…, Episode 695: Q&A 130: Does the Dark Forest Explain the Fermi Paradox? Besides Mercury, Venus is the only other planet in the solar system that does not have a moon or rings. Because the forces of gravity are so strong, rings are not likely to occur. The Planet Mercury does not have any rings, or any moons. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! One thing’s for sure, though, there are no Mercury rings today. Because the forces of gravity are so strong, rings … Therefore, when you are thinking about Mercury’s atmosphere, you should remember that it does have an atmosphere, but it is not similar to the atmosphere we know on Earth. Twitch: https://twitch.tv/fcain And More…, Episode 691: Interview: Seth Shostak from the SETI Institute, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Listen to it here, Episode 49: Mercury. Astronomers predict that the Martian moon Phobos will eventually suffer this fate, be torn apart by Mars’ gravity, and form a ring for a while. N.p., n.d. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G, Weekly email newsletter: They are all gaseous planets and represent half the number of planets in the solar system. A ring very close to the sun. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/, Astronomy Cast: How Many Moons Does Mercury Have? The second way for a ring to form is for an asteroid or moon to get too close to a planet and be torn apart by gravity. It is small and rocky. In this image alone, 763 craters have been identified and measured (shown in green) along with 189 hills (shown in yellow). Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are the four planets in our solar system that have rings. Web. A year on Mercury lasts 88 Earth days. Only the gas planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune have rings and only those of Saturn are highly visible. Web. Our Earth has one large moon, Saturn has 60 or more and even tiny Pluto, smaller even than Mercury, has its own moons. Virtually every planet in the Solar System has moons. Wallace Arthur is an evolutionary biologist and emeritus professor of Zoology at the National University of Ireland, Galway. The Planet Mercury does not have any rings, or any moons. That’s because it’s too close to the Sun. According to calculations, this means that the planet travels through space at an astounding 30 miles per second. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. We also know that some of Saturn’s moons, like Enceladus, are continuing to spew fresh material into the rings. This material was then captured by the gravitational force of the planet. There are two ways that scientists think a planet can get rings. The first is the icy rings around Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. Mercury does not have any moons. And More…, Episode 694: Interview: Fred Watson, Australia's Astronomer at Large, Episode 693: Open Space 92: Why I Hate Embargoed News Stories, and More…, Episode 692: Open Space 91: Any Updates on Venus? Chad Weber – [email protected], Support Universe Today podcasts with Fraser Cain. Both Earth and Venus have collected co-orbiting dust rings, as the planets have shepherded the particles with powerful gravitational tugs. Experts believe that a similar process is responsible for the formation of most of the moons in the case of Jupiter, Neptune, … If you’d like more information on Mercury, check out NASA’s Solar System Exploration Guide, and here’s a link to NASA’s MESSENGER Misson Page. Scientists surmise that the most likely reason for this is due to the strong gravitational pull of the sun on the planet. Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system. However, this process is also time consuming; Mercury has a lot of craters! In the 1970s, astronomers believed Mercury might have a moon based on large amounts of ultraviolet radiation detected by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) spacecraft.