A day on Mercury lasts 59 Earth days. Scientists think that Saturn’s rings come from an icy object or moon that was crushed under Saturn’s gravity, becoming its rings. Scientists surmise that the most likely reason for this is due to the strong gravitational pull of the sun on the planet. Unfortunately, Mercury could never get rings like this. That’s because it’s too close to the Sun. Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system. Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/universetoday How Many Moons Does Mercury Have? Most people associate planetary rings with Saturn because its rings are more visible and colorful compared to the other planets. Mercury’s atmosphere is constantly shifting, is consistently stripped and blown away by solar winds, and it is constantly replenishing itself. Mercury vaporizes as a gas into the air, and we have theorized that if mercury was in a sort of enclosed space like a drawer, the air could have enough mercury in it to turn a gold ring to a silver tone on the very surface, but that as this very tiny amount of mercury began to diffuse through the whole ring, the amount would be so low that the ring would turn back gold again. The Guide to Space is a series of space and astronomy poddcasts by Fraser Cain, publisher of Universe Today, Episode 700: Interview: Wallace Arthur and the Biological Universe. Since Mercury has no moons, this scenario cannot occur. Think about the planets in the Solar System; Saturn has rings, so do Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. In fact, ice can’t exist closer to the Sun than the asteroid belt, unless it’s hidden in shadow, or protected by an atmosphere like we have on Earth. A ring very close to the sun. Celestial Collisions; Capturing Asteroids; Trapped Comets; The Sun’s Gravity; Related Articles; Celestial Collisions. ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 Mercury doesn’t have any moons, and there aren’t many asteroids that might interact with it, so it might never get a ring – but maybe one day. Mercury does not have a moon. No. For a few million years this crushed asteroid would appear as a ring around Mercury, until the chunks finally fell down onto the planet. See no ads on this site, see our videos early, special bonus material, and much more. 4 Dec. 2012 http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Mercury&Display=OverviewLong. 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. Both Earth and Venus have collected co-orbiting dust rings, as the planets have shepherded the particles with powerful gravitational tugs. For decades, researchers believed that Saturn was the only planet with rings, but advancements in technology led to the development of space probes that discovered rings around the gaseous planets. Experts believe that a similar process is responsible for the formation of most of the moons in the case of Jupiter, Neptune, … Sorry, Mercury doesn’t have rings right now. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/, Astronomy Cast: Only the gas planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune have rings and only those of Saturn are highly visible. 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. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are the four planets in our solar system that have rings. 4 Dec. 2012.  http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/mercury, “Solar System Exploration: Planets: Mercury: Read More.” Solar System Exploration. Because the forces of gravity are so strong, rings … Join us at patreon.com/universetoday. The powerful solar winds blast out from the Sun, and would melt and destroy any icy rings around Mercury. Only the gas planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune have rings and only those of Saturn are highly visible. However, this process is also time consuming; Mercury has a lot of craters! For decades, researchers believed that Saturn was the only planet with rings, but … Join our 836 patrons! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G, Weekly email newsletter: Mercury’s Neighbors. The gravitational pull of the sun is very strong on Mercury simply because the planet is located very close to the sun. “Mercury | Scholastic.com.” Scholastic, Helping Children Around the World to Read and Learn | Scholastic.com. N.p., n.d. Rings around planets are usually comprised of rocks, dust, ice and other particles that were pulled into the plant’s gravitational pull as these objects were traveling past the planet. Although moons are a common feature in our Solar System, Mercury does not have any moons. His newest book is called the Biological Universe, and features the search for life in the Milky Way and Beyond. Web. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are the four planets in our solar system that have rings. Mercury is a terrestrial planet. 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. Mercury does not have any moons. Aside from being the first planet, Mercury is also the smallest of the planets with a mean diameter of about 4,880 km. The first is the icy rings around Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. Listen to it here, Episode 49: Mercury. Follow us on Twitter: @universetoday N.p., n.d. RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio, What Fraser's Watching Playlist: Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Kid’s Astronomy – Ophiuchus: The “Snake Charmer”, https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/, https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK–MdCSg, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw, Episode 699: Open Space 96: The End of the International Space Station? 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. There are two ways that scientists think a planet can get rings. And More…, Episode 698: Open Space 95: Would SpaceX Have Survived without NASA? Scientists surmise that the most likely reason for this is due to the strong gravitational pull of the sun on the planet. In this image alone, 763 craters have been identified and measured (shown in green) along with 189 hills (shown in yellow). The Planet Mercury does not have any rings, or any moons. Wallace Arthur is an evolutionary biologist and emeritus professor of Zoology at the National University of Ireland, Galway. In some cases, it is theorized that the rings around other planets were formed when material was broken off of moon circling the planets. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/biological-universe/4599E17C7FAAECE4A87038C62039C755, Our Book is out! Only the gas planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune have rings and only those of Saturn are highly visible. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! They are all gaseous planets and represent half the number of planets in the solar system. Altogether, 491 frames were taken … Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. That’s because it’s too close to the Sun. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, it has no rings or moons because the gravity of the sun far exeedes the gravity of mercury. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. There seems to be some … And More…, Episode 697: Interview: Theoretical Physicist Dr. Peter Woit, Episode 696: Open Space 94: Is It Realistic to Declare a "Free Mars"? No. While Mercury does have an atmosphere, it is very thin and constantly trying to … The disk eventually becomes a big enough body that it may end up having a spherical shape. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK–MdCSg, Support us at: https://www.patreon.com/universetoday 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. It’s also possible that the ring material just formed in place back when the Solar System formed. The Planet Mercury does not have any rings, or any moons. Chad Weber – [email protected], Support Universe Today podcasts with Fraser Cain. And More…, Episode 691: Interview: Seth Shostak from the SETI Institute, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Twitch: https://twitch.tv/fcain A year on Mercury lasts 88 Earth days. Mercury doesn't really have an atmosphere. 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? This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter, Weekly Space Hangout: We have also recorded a whole episode of Astronomy Cast that’s just about planet Mercury. [/caption] https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/, Audio Podcast version: It was later determined that the radiation was coming from a distant star, rather than a moon. I say right now, because it’s possible that Mercury has had rings in the past, and it could have them again in the future. Unfortunately, Mercury could never get rings like this. Virtually every planet in the Solar System has moons. As of 2014, no moons, rings or signs of life have been seen on Mercury, according to NASA. 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