Mercury: The Problem Child of the Solar System

May 08, 2016 on BBC FOUR at 10:00 PM

Summary

May 9 2016 sees one of the astronomical highlights of the year - a transit of Mercury across the sun, the best opportunity to observe this phenomenon until 2049. To mark the event, the Sky at Night attempts to explain the many mysteries of Mercury... (more) - a planet so bizarre that it is sometimes described as the 'problem child' of the solar system. Surface temperatures exceed 450 degrees but it also has patches of ice, its day is twice as long as its year, and it is a planet that appears to be shrinking.

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Apr 10, 2016

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Secrets of the Whirlpool Galaxy
Season 2016 Episode 5

Jun 12, 2016