What Mercury's Unusual Orbit Reveals About the Sun

As the closest planet to the Sun -- and with the most oblong orbit in the solar system -- Mercury orbits through a region where the Sun’s influence is changing dramatically. Two NASA researchers looked to Mercury to study how the Sun's influence on planets changes throughout space. Here's what they learned. Full paper: go.nasa.gov/3NfK0Xt Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Miles Hatfield (Telophase): Producer Anna Blaustein (NASA Interns): Producer Norberto Romanelli (NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/University of Maryland, College Park): Scientist Gina DiBraccio (NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center): Scientist Music credits: “Swirling Blizzard” by Laurent Dury [SACEM]; “Sparkle Shimmer” by William Henries [PRS] and Michael Holborn [PRS] from Universal Production Music