Mercury is the smallest and fastest planet in our solar system, zipping around the sun at about 100,000 miles per hour. At Live Science, you can read all about this planet of extremes. Whether our expert writers and editors are debunking myths about Mercury retrograde, explaining how to view Mercury, offering surprising facts about NASA's Mercury probe, breaking down the science of why Mercury is shrinking, or keeping you updated on the BepiColombo spacecraft headed to Mercury, there's always something fun to learn in our Mercury news, features and articles.
Discover more about Mercury
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Mercury is weird because of a 'hit-and-run' incident in its youth"What surprised us, at the end, was how effective this type of impact could be in explaining Mercury's unusual structure without needing to consider multiple collisions or extremely rare conditions."
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See Mercury's frigid north pole in extraordinary new images from the BepiColombo spacecraftA joint Japanese-European mission to Mercury just made its sixth flyby of the planet, revealing stunning close-ups of the permanently shadowed craters at Mercury's north pole.
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9-mile-thick layer of solid diamonds may lurk beneath Mercury's surface, study hintsNew simulations suggest that a 9-mile-thick layer of solid diamonds may lurk deep below the surface of Mercury. The gems almost certainly can't be mined for bling — but they may help solve some of the planet's biggest mysteries.
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It's the best time of year to spot Mercury. Here's how to find it.Mercury is about to reach its "greatest elongation west" of the sun, meaning stargazers will have their best view of the "swift planet" all year. Here's how to see it.
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Mercury may have a 'potentially habitable' region below its surface, salty glaciers suggestSalty glaciers discovered in craters near Mercury's north pole may have the right conditions for extreme forms of life, new research suggests.
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Mercury is still shrinking after billions of years, and scientists can see its 'wrinkles'The smallest planet in our solar system is getting smaller as heat escapes its core and fresh cracks open on its surface, new research finds.
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Mercury reaches its highest point in the sky this weekend. Here's how to see it.A bright, yellowish spot in the morning sky is actually Mercury making a rare daytime appearance. Here's how to see it at its highest and brightest this week.
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See Mercury's giant, comet-like tail in stunning new image as it passes close to the sunShortly after Mercury reached its closest point to the sun, its massive, comet-like tail became unusually visible in the night sky and was captured in a stunning new photo.
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Mercury: Facts about the smallest planetMercury is the closest planet to the sun, the fastest planet orbiting the sun and the smallest planet in our solar system.
