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Physics and Mathematics

November 28, 2025; Cambridge, UK: IX International Scientific and Practical Conference «EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF TODAY: INTERSECTORAL ISSUES AND DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCES»


ON THE PRESENCE OF WATER ON THE PLANET MERCURY


DOI
https://doi.org/10.36074/logos-28.11.2025.043
Published
28.11.2025

Abstract

Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System with a diameter of about 4878 km. Spacecraft equipment has been able to register a small magnetic field of the planet, which may indicate the presence of a metal core of significant size. Due to the peculiarities of its rotation around its axis and the movement of the planet in its orbit, two oppositely located meridians stand out on its surface, which are called "hot longitudes"; there is also one of the largest impact basins in the Solar System called Caloris. The diameter of this basin exceeds 1550 km. There are large ridges, faults and cracks in it up to hundreds of kilometers long. At the average distance of the planet from the Sun, the temperature of its surface at the subsolar point is 613 K; at its closest distance to the Sun, it exceeds 700 K, and at night, at its maximum distance, it decreases to 150 K. In the polar regions at the bottom of craters, which are never illuminated by the Sun, the temperature drops to values below 90 K. Radar observations near the south and north poles of Mercury have revealed areas with high reflectivity. This can be explained by the presence of water ice in the near-surface layer. Due to the very small inclination of Mercury's axis of rotation, sunlight never reaches the bottom of such craters. For this reason, ice can be stored there for billions of years. The total mass of water ice on Mercury is estimated at 1012 tons.

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