All Questions
Tagged with mercury solar-system
10 questions
15
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1
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Why is Mercury's orbit so unusual?
Mercury's orbit has the most eccentricity, 0.2, of all the planets. And this orbit is also the most inclined relative to Earth, 7 degrees. Edit: And to the invariable plane, it is inclined 6.35 ...
- 2,000
4
votes
1
answer
257
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Does the observed Perihelion precession of Mercury still deviate from prediction?
In Wikipedia section about the Perihelion precession of Mercury, we have the follwing table titled "Sources of the precession of perihelion for Mercury":
Amount (arcsec/Julian century)
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- 1,707
6
votes
1
answer
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Why is Mercury's Density So Low?
I know the title sounds odd. You might be thinking "Doesn't Mercury have the highest uncompressed density of any terrestrial planet? Much higher than a planet its size normally should have?&...
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4
votes
2
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What are the Time Zones on Mercury?
I normally post on worldbuilding, but this question is merely about facts of a planets orbit and spin. I am trying to figure out how time periods work on Mercury to possibly make a worldbuilding guide ...
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2
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2
answers
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What effects does the motion of the Sun have on the perihelion precession of Mercury?
According to the wikipedia page, there are multiple effects contributing to the perihelion precession of Mercury.
Of course, according to this link and this link we know that the Sun is itself ...
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5
votes
2
answers
479
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What is wrong with this measurement of the synodic period of Mercury?
I'm measuring the synodic period of Mercury using Stellarium. When measuring the synodic period one needs to choose a reference point to start the measurement, and I choose the point when Mercury is ...
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1
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1
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If Mercury and Venus where to collide would it make a habitable planet? [closed]
I have been wondering for a while now about a scenario of where if you combined Venus & Mercury would it be habitable if located in the goldy locks zone? I have found in my little research that ...
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5
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1
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Explanation of resonance stability and instability
I'm having some trouble grasping the idea of planetary resonances due to what seems to me like an ambiguity. It is known that the asteroid main belt is sculpted by the Kirkwood gaps, corresponding to ...
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33
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6
answers
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Why is the Sun's density less than the inner planets?
The density of the Sun is $1410~\frac{\text{kg}}{\text{m}^{3}}$ and Mercury's is $5430~\frac{\text{kg}}{\text{m}^{3}}$, but shouldn't the Sun be denser? Because when the Solar System was forming, ...
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7
votes
1
answer
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What is the format of the data from the JPL's HORIZONS system?
I'm looking for accurate positions and velocities of the planets in the solar system over several decades. I want to simulate their trajectories using Newtonian laws of motion, and compare the ...
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