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What is the newly discovered ring around Mercury made up of?

April 26, 2017Astronomy Mathematics mercury newly ring

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What is the newly discovered ring around Mercury made up of?

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Mercury does not have a ring. Any ring that began to form would immediately be destroyed by the pull of the sun’s gravity. Mercury is so close to the sun that “tidal forces” from the sun would prevent any stable ring. On other planets, the rings seem to be made primarily of rock debris.

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That report says nothing about discovering a ring around mercury but it does mention that the probe will “circle” mercury. This is a quote, “The craft, known as MESSENGER, began the orbit around 9:00 pm (0200 GMT) on a mission to [circle] the planet for one Earth year in an unprecedented study of the tiny, hot planet. Please read more carefully or correct me where I am wrong if I have overlooked something.