Saturday, August 19, 2017

How many moons does Mercury have?

This would appear to be something of a trick question. Unlike Earth, Mercury has no moons at all. Mercury is, of course, the nearest planet to the Sun. And because of this close proximity to the Sun and its gravitational field, Mercury simply wouldn't be able to hold on to a moon of its own in the way that Earth does. Just imagine for a moment what would happen if Mercury actually did have a moon. Due to its proximity to the sun any moon that it had would more than likely crash right into that gigantic ball of fire. Even if such a moon could orbit the Sun for a while, it would get sucked in eventually, succumbing to the Sun's extraordinarily powerful gravitational pull.
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/how-many-moons/en/

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