Orbital eccentricity
Videos
In astrodynamics, the orbital eccentricity of an astronomical object is a dimensionless parameter that determines the amount by which its orbit around another body deviates from a perfect circle. A va
Plot of the changing orbital eccentricities of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars over the next 50 000 years. The arrows indicate the different scales used, as the eccentricities of Mercury and Mars are much greater than those of Venus and Earth. The 0 point on x-axis in this plot is the year 2007.
Mercury (planet)
Videos
Mercury is the first planet from the Sun and the smallest in the Solar System. It is a rocky planet with a trace atmosphere and a surface gravity slightly lower than that of Mars. The surface of Mercu
Orbital eccentricity
…rp) is r a r p = 1 + e 1 − e ≈ 1.03393 . The table lists the values for all planets and dwarf planets, and selected asteroids, comets, and moons. Mercury has the greatest orbital eccentricity of any planet in the Solar System (e = 0.2056), followed by Mars of 0.0934. Such eccentricity is sufficient for…
Mercury in true color (by MESSENGER in 2008).
MASCS spectrum scan of Mercury's surface by MESSENGER
Enhanced-color image of craters Munch (left), Sander (center), and Poe (right) amid volcanic plains (orange) near Caloris Basin
Perspective view of Caloris Basin – high (red); low (blue)