Is Mercury's core liquid or solid, and why -- on the smallest planet in our solar system -- is it so big? What can the planet closest to the Sun tell us about how our solar system came into being?

An unmanned European-Japanese space mission, dubbed BepiColombo, blasted off early Saturday morning from French Guiana, to probe these and other mysteries.

"BepiColombo is coming like a white knight with better and more precise data," said Alain Doressoundiram, an astronomer at the Paris Observatory.

"To understand how Earth was formed, we need to understand how all rocky planets formed," including Venus and Mars, he told AFP.&nbsp;

"Mercury stands apart and we don't know why."

First, however, the suite of instruments on board the Ariane 5 rocket will have to travel seven years and nine million kilometres (5.6 million miles) to reach their destination.

In a statement after the launch, ArianeGroup said the satellite had successfully escaped Earth's gravity field and was beginning its long journey where it will reach speeds of up to 40,000 kilometres (25,000 miles) an hour.

According to Pierre Bousquet, an engineer at France's National Centre for Space Research and head of the French team contributing to the mission, Mercury is "abnormally small," leading to speculation that it survived a massive collision in its youth.

"A huge crater visible on its surface could be the scar left over from that encounter," Bousquet told AFP. Finding out if this is true is on BepiColombo's "to do" list.

Going hot and cold&nbsp;

This scenario would explain why Mercury's core accounts for a whopping 55 percent of its mass, compared to 30 percent for Earth.

Mercury is also the only rocky planet orbiting the Sun beside our own to have a magnetic field.

Magnetic fields are generated by a liquid core but given its size, Mercury's should have grown cold and solid by now, as did Mars.

This anomaly might be due to some feature of the core's composition, something BepiColombo's instruments will measure with much greater precision than has been possible so far.

On its surface, Mercury is a planet of extremes, vacillating between hot days of about 430 degrees Celsius (more than 800 degrees Fahrenheit) to super-frosty nights of minus 180C (minus 290F).&nbsp;

Those days and nights last nearly three Earth months each.

Earlier missions have detected evidence of ice in the deepest recesses of the planet's polar craters.

Scientists speculate that this may have accumulated from comets crashing onto Mercury's surface.

"If the presence of ice is confirmed, it means that some of those water samples date back nearly to the origin of the solar system," Doressoundiram said.

Lashed by solar winds&nbsp;

Mercury is 58 million kilometres (36 million miles) from the Sun, nearly three times closer than Earth.

"The planet is whipped by solar winds," a constant torrent of ionised particles bombarding the surface at 500 kilometres per second, said Bousquet.

The scientists will be able to study the impact of these winds -- 10 times stronger than the ones hitting Earth's atmosphere -- on Mercury's magnetic field.

The BepiColombo mission will deploy two spacecraft. The Mercury Planet Orbiter, built by ESA, will investigate planet's surface and interior composition.

The Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, made by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, will study the region of space around the planet that is influenced by its magnetic field. &nbsp;&nbsp;

The mission will also look for tectonic activity, and seek to understand why spectroscopic observations show no iron even if it is thought to be one of the planet's major component elements.

Compared to Mars, Venus, and Saturn, Mercury has barely been explored. Only two spacecraft have ever paid it a visit.&nbsp;

NASA's Mariner 10 did three flybys in 1974 and 1975, providing the first up-close images. More than 30 years later, NASA's Messenger did the same, before settling into orbit around Mercury in 2011.

The new mission is named after Giuseppe (Bepi) Colombo, a brilliant Italian mathematician and engineer who first understood the relationship between Mercury’s rotation and orbit.

Is Mercury's core liquid or solid, and why -- on the smallest planet in our solar system -- is it so big? What can the planet closest to the Sun tell us about how our solar system came into being?

Is Mercury's core liquid or solid, and why -- on the smallest planet in our solar system -- is it so big? What can the planet closest to the Sun tell us about how our solar system came into being? An unmanned European-Japanese space mission, dubbed BepiColombo, blasted off early Saturday morning from French Guiana, to probe these and other mysteries. "BepiColombo is coming like a white knight with better and more precise data," said Alain Doressoundiram, an astronomer at the Paris Observatory. "To understand how Earth was formed, we need to understand how all rocky planets formed," including Venus and Mars, he told AFP. "Mercury stands apart and we don't know why." First, however, the suite of instruments on board the Ariane 5 rocket will have to travel seven years and nine million kilometres (5.6 million miles) to reach their destination. In a statement after the launch, ArianeGroup said the satellite had successfully escaped Earth's gravity field and was beginning its long journey where it will reach speeds of up to 40,000 kilometres (25,000 miles) an hour. According to Pierre Bousquet, an engineer at France's National Centre for Space Research and head of the French team contributing to the mission, Mercury is "abnormally small," leading to speculation that it survived a massive collision in its youth. "A huge crater visible on its surface could be the scar left over from that encounter," Bousquet told AFP. Finding out if this is true is on BepiColombo's "to do" list. Going hot and cold This scenario would explain why Mercury's core accounts for a whopping 55 percent of its mass, compared to 30 percent for Earth. Mercury is also the only rocky planet orbiting the Sun beside our own to have a magnetic field. Magnetic fields are generated by a liquid core but given its size, Mercury's should have grown cold and solid by now, as did Mars. This anomaly might be due to some feature of the core's composition, something BepiColombo's instruments will measure with much greater precision than has been possible so far. On its surface, Mercury is a planet of extremes, vacillating between hot days of about 430 degrees Celsius (more than 800 degrees Fahrenheit) to super-frosty nights of minus 180C (minus 290F). Those days and nights last nearly three Earth months each. Earlier missions have detected evidence of ice in the deepest recesses of the planet's polar craters. Scientists speculate that this may have accumulated from comets crashing onto Mercury's surface. "If the presence of ice is confirmed, it means that some of those water samples date back nearly to the origin of the solar system," Doressoundiram said. Lashed by solar winds Mercury is 58 million kilometres (36 million miles) from the Sun, nearly three times closer than Earth. "The planet is whipped by solar winds," a constant torrent of ionised particles bombarding the surface at 500 kilometres per second, said Bousquet. The scientists will be able to study the impact of these winds -- 10 times stronger than the ones hitting Earth's atmosphere -- on Mercury's magnetic field. The BepiColombo mission will deploy two spacecraft. The Mercury Planet Orbiter, built by ESA, will investigate planet's surface and interior composition. The Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter, made by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, will study the region of space around the planet that is influenced by its magnetic field. The mission will also look for tectonic activity, and seek to understand why spectroscopic observations show no iron even if it is thought to be one of the planet's major component elements. Compared to Mars, Venus, and Saturn, Mercury has barely been explored. Only two spacecraft have ever paid it a visit. NASA's Mariner 10 did three flybys in 1974 and 1975, providing the first up-close images. More than 30 years later, NASA's Messenger did the same, before settling into orbit around Mercury in 2011. The new mission is named after Giuseppe (Bepi) Colombo, a brilliant Italian mathematician and engineer who first understood the relationship between Mercury’s rotation and orbit.

Mercury mission to explore origin of Solar System

The mercury dropped by a few notches in the national capital with the maximum temperature settling at 36.6 degrees Celsius, four notches below the normal.

A dust storm was forecast to hit the city on Thursday.

It is likely to occur tonight, an official from the MeT Department said.

The maximum temperature recorded on Wednesday was 41.6 degrees Celsius, a notch above the normal.

The minimum temperature registered on Thursday&nbspwas 28.5 degrees Celsius.

Humidity recorded in the evening was 62 per cent.

"Generally cloudy sky with possibility of thundering development towards the night," the official said.

The temperature recorded at other weather stations in Palam was 38.5 degrees Celsius, Ayanagar (37.5), Lodhi Road (35.2) and Ridge (35.2).

A dust storm was forecast to hit the city on Thursday

The mercury dropped by a few notches in the national capital with the maximum temperature settling at 36.6 degrees Celsius, four notches below the normal. A dust storm was forecast to hit the city on Thursday. It is likely to occur tonight, an official from the MeT Department said. The maximum temperature recorded on Wednesday was 41.6 degrees Celsius, a notch above the normal. The minimum temperature registered on Thursday&nbspwas 28.5 degrees Celsius. Humidity recorded in the evening was 62 per cent. "Generally cloudy sky with possibility of thundering development towards the night," the official said. The temperature recorded at other weather stations in Palam was 38.5 degrees Celsius, Ayanagar (37.5), Lodhi Road (35.2) and Ridge (35.2).

Mercury dips in Delhi, max temp 36.6 degrees Celsius

&nbsp;A day after a dust storm hit Delhi-NCR, the mercury slipped a few notches in the national capital, bringing some relief from the hot weather.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 26.6 degrees Celsius, one notch below the normal, the Meteorological (MeT) Department said.

A dust storm and thunderstorm has been forecast for today as well, a MeT official said.

The dust storm last night that hit Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, and Ghaziabad, had brought the maximum temperature down from 42 degrees Celsius to 35 degrees Celsius.

The minimum temperature yesterday had settled at 30 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average.

The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 42 degrees Celsius later in the day.

The temperature recorded in other weather stations were -- Palam (25.4 degrees Celsius), Lodhi Road (24.7), Ayanagar (25) and Ridge (25).&nbsp;

The minimum temperature on Friday settled at 30 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average

A day after a dust storm hit Delhi-NCR, the mercury slipped a few notches in the national capital, bringing some relief from the hot weather. The minimum temperature was recorded at 26.6 degrees Celsius, one notch below the normal, the Meteorological (MeT) Department said. A dust storm and thunderstorm has been forecast for today as well, a MeT official said. The dust storm last night that hit Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, and Ghaziabad, had brought the maximum temperature down from 42 degrees Celsius to 35 degrees Celsius. The minimum temperature yesterday had settled at 30 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average. The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 42 degrees Celsius later in the day. The temperature recorded in other weather stations were -- Palam (25.4 degrees Celsius), Lodhi Road (24.7), Ayanagar (25) and Ridge (25).

Mercury dips in Delhi after dust storm

India's national capital recorded the hottest day of the season today with the mercury touching 40 degrees Celsius.

Last week Delhi was hit by dust and thunderstorm which gave Delhiites some relief, however, the temperature has been climbing ever since then touching a record high today.

Skymet weather had earlier predicted rain or thundershowers in the capital today instead the residents in Delhi had to bear the hot weather as the day temperature touched a new high.

On Sunday, the maximum temperature recorded was 36 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature was at 20.5 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological&nbsp;Department(IMD) today predicted normal monsoon in the country with rains due to hit&nbsp;the Kerela coast in May end or early June.

"Last two year India had a good monsoon and this year also we are going to have an effective monsoon," K J Ramesh, Director general IMD said. 
&nbsp;

Last week Delhi was hit by dust and thunderstorm which gave Delhiites some relief

India's national capital recorded the hottest day of the season today with the mercury touching 40 degrees Celsius. Last week Delhi was hit by dust and thunderstorm which gave Delhiites some relief, however, the temperature has been climbing ever since then touching a record high today. Skymet weather had earlier predicted rain or thundershowers in the capital today instead the residents in Delhi had to bear the hot weather as the day temperature touched a new high. On Sunday, the maximum temperature recorded was 36 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature was at 20.5 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department(IMD) today predicted normal monsoon in the country with rains due to hit the Kerela coast in May end or early June. "Last two year India had a good monsoon and this year also we are going to have an effective monsoon," K J Ramesh, Director general IMD said.

Delhi records hottest day of the season

Prabhudeva has time and again stunned us with his spectacular dance moves and unique choreography style&nbsp;but this time he’s here to woo us with a silent thriller/horror film titled Mercury. Sans any dialogues, the film’s first trailer released on April 9 to prove that ‘silence does speak louder than words’.&nbsp;

The trailer opens to a shot of the hills with a boy and a girl standing at its edge -- with the camera then moving to a scene inside an abandoned factory where four people are scared, bruised and bleeding. The trailer has no dialogues but there is screeching scary music, a lot of metal banging against each other and floor shaking as the people try to protect themselves from something. What adds to the trailer is the vivid expressions on the actors’ faces. The trailer ends with Prabhudeva clad in a lungi (South Indian wrap around) shouting and pulling his hair.&nbsp;

The light and sound mix of the trailer gives the place an eerie feel. And not to miss, there’s a car parked outside the factory with its backlight blinking. Suddenly, it shakes too dangerously.&nbsp;

The choreographer-filmmaker-actor Prabhudeva’s new silent film, Mercury is helmed by Karthik Subbaraj and will release in four languages. The film will also see actors Sananth, Indhuja, Deepak Paramesh, Shashank Purushotham and Anish Padmanabhan. Apart from direction, Subbaraj has written the story and screenplay.&nbsp;

The film has music by Santhosh Narayanan, while the cinematography is taken care of by S Thirunavukkarasu.

Watch the trailer:&nbsp;

<iframe allow="autoplay encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TeA293PMT1s" width="970"></iframe>

From the looks of the trailer, Prabhudeva is possessed in the film

Prabhudeva has time and again stunned us with his spectacular dance moves and unique choreography style but this time he’s here to woo us with a silent thriller/horror film titled Mercury. Sans any dialogues, the film’s first trailer released on April 9 to prove that ‘silence does speak louder than words’. The trailer opens to a shot of the hills with a boy and a girl standing at its edge -- with the camera then moving to a scene inside an abandoned factory where four people are scared, bruised and bleeding. The trailer has no dialogues but there is screeching scary music, a lot of metal banging against each other and floor shaking as the people try to protect themselves from something. What adds to the trailer is the vivid expressions on the actors’ faces. The trailer ends with Prabhudeva clad in a lungi (South Indian wrap around) shouting and pulling his hair. The light and sound mix of the trailer gives the place an eerie feel. And not to miss, there’s a car parked outside the factory with its backlight blinking. Suddenly, it shakes too dangerously. The choreographer-filmmaker-actor Prabhudeva’s new silent film, Mercury is helmed by Karthik Subbaraj and will release in four languages. The film will also see actors Sananth, Indhuja, Deepak Paramesh, Shashank Purushotham and Anish Padmanabhan. Apart from direction, Subbaraj has written the story and screenplay. The film has music by Santhosh Narayanan, while the cinematography is taken care of by S Thirunavukkarasu. Watch the trailer:

Watch 'Mercury' trailer: Prabhudeva is here to send chills down your spine in new silent horror film

mercury

Mercury, News on Mercury, stories on Mercury, articles on Mercury, Mercury stories at Wion, Mercury news, Mercury latest news