E-Paper
NASA shares dazzling pic of solar system’s smallest planet Mercury
"Just like a diamond," wrote an Instagram user while reacting to a picture of Mercury shared by NASA.
A picture posted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had left netizens stunned. The image shows the smallest planet of our solar system, Mercury. Captured by MESSENGER, the first spacecraft to ever orbit the planet, the picture has created a chatter among netizens.
NASA also posted a detailed caption along with the image to explain more about the planet. “Slightly larger than Earth’s Moon, Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system, and is the closest to the Sun at an average of 36 million miles (58 million km) away. While Mercury may be the smallest planet, it is also the speediest, travelling in its orbit at almost 29 miles (47 km) per second, making a year on Mercury just 88 Earth days,” the space agency wrote.
Also Read: NASA shares unseen pic of Chandrayaan-3 lander on the Moon
In the next few lines, they shared how the planet has a thin exosphere instead of an atmosphere. They also added about the picture and wrote, “Mercury appears tan and several shades of blue, with craters marking the surface, allowing scientists to examine the geological features.”
Take a look at this post about Mercury by NASA:
The post was shared a day ago. Since being posted, it has collected close to 1.2 million likes, and the numbers are only increasing. Additionally, the share has also accumulated tons of comments from people.
Also Read: NASA captures Saturn and its moon from 927,000 km away. See pic
What did Instagram users say about the video?
“Beauty,” posted an Instagram user. “Just like a diamond,” added another. “My favourite planet,” joined a third. “Planets are so fascinating,” wrote a fourth.
