Its name was given to this amazing planet in honor of the god honored by the Romans, patronizing trade. The god Mercury was fast-footed. The name of the planet was chosen not by chance, because it is faster than other planets moving across the sky.

Mercury belongs to the category of inner planets (since its orbit is located inside the Earth's orbit) and is considered the smallest planet in the solar system. Not so long ago it was not very well known about him. Thanks to the spacecraft - "Messenger", as well as "Mariner 10" - the scientists compiled a map of its surface. Mercury is a planet without natural satellites. It can be seen in the evening and morning skies, but, unfortunately, not always. Mercury has a mass about twenty times smaller than the mass of our planet. The radius of Mercury is about 2420 kilometers.

The "solar wind" created a helium rarefied atmosphere on the surface of this planet. In the atmosphere of Mercury there is a very small amount of hydrogen, as well as traces of inert gases, such as neon and argon. Thanks to the research of space vehicles, it was found out that the magnetic field of the planet is very weak. It is weaker than the earthly one hundredth. Due to its position, more close to the Sun than the Earth, the heavenly body is irradiated more strongly by the light. The temperature on the illuminated surface is hundreds of degrees above 0, while on the shady side of the planet there is a temperature and - 170 degrees. Due to the good thermal insulation properties of the surface layer of Mercury, the temperature at a depth of about a few decimeters from the surface is always stable and is about 80 degrees.

As on Mercury acceleration of free fall is three times less than on our planet, the weight of the cosmonaut, who was there, will be three times less than on the Earth. Its orbit has an elongated shape. The planet Mercury very quickly moves in orbit, it makes a revolution around the Sun in just 88 terrestrial days, which is 0.24 Earth years. But around the axis the celestial body moves slowly, its one turn equals 58.6 terrestrial days.

Orbital and axial motion of the planet develops, and this leads to the fact that the duration of the solar day of this planet is equal to 176 terrestrial days, and this is two Mercurian years. This phenomenon can be regarded as a unique case in the planetary system, as two days pass in a day. The planet Mercury rushes in an orbit, but very lazily turns around its axis. As a result of the uniformity of the speed of rotation of Mercury around its axis and the unevenness of the speed of movement in orbit, for a person observing this planet with the help of optical instruments, the effect may appear, as if the sun rises twice on the planet. This effect was named for Joshua, a Biblical character who once stopped the Sun.

For one earthly year, the planet Mercury makes four turns around the Sun, and also turns six times around its axis. During the Earth year, according to observers from the Earth, the planet makes three turns around the Sun and turns five times around its axis. We can conclude that this coincidence led to the fact that according to astronomers who lived in the early twentieth century, Mercury "looks" to the sun with one side.

In astrology, Mercury is a planet of communication, intelligence, wisdom. It guides the mind and consciousness, influences memory and perception. Mercury protects the bodies that are responsible for the perception of information, as well as travel and transportation. One of its main functions is the formation of thinking, purposeful thinking energy.

For a person who has Mercury in his horoscope, there is a tendency to communicate, the ability to clearly formulate and communicate his thought, a high level of intelligence. When the planet is in the most harmonious arrangement, a person becomes more eloquent, he has the ability to process and receive information. At the same time, Mercury protects travelers and promotes a good voice. People who are under his protection, often become artists, singers, like public performances.

In addition to the good qualities of the planet Mercury also gives people and negative features. They are manifested in a tendency to conflict, resourcefulness, sarcasm and lies.

Whether a person is endowed with these or those qualities, depends more on the position of Mercury in the birth chart.