MESSENGER Animations and Movies
GRAVITY ASSIST SIMULATOR
NEW! Save fuel...use gravity! Spacecraft often use the gravity of planets to change their speed and direction. Use this Gravity Assist Simulator to explore how these maneuvers can be used to speed up, slow down, and change the trajectory of a spacecraft. Important: this simulator was designed to be used in conjunction with this datasheet (coming soon!).
GOING AROUND THE SUN
Mercury travels around the Sun faster than any other planet, taking only 88 Earth days to orbit the Sun. Unlike the Earth, whose rotation on its axis takes 24 hours, Mercury takes about 59 Earth days to make complete rotation. Mercury’s rotational period is exactly 2/3 of the time it takes for Mercury to complete one orbit around the Sun. In this animation you can explore this 3:2 spin-orbit resonance.
PLANET SIZE COMPARISON
Mercury is the second smallest planet; only Pluto is smaller. In fact, Mercury is not much larger than our Moon. In this animation you can find out how Mercury "sizes up" to Earth or any other planet.
A DAY ON MERCURY
Since Mercury rotates exactly three times for every two orbits, a day on Mercury would be quite different from a typical Earth day. In fact, because of this 3:2 resonance, you would have daylight for 176 consecutive Earth days followed by 176 Earth days of darkness. Even more interesting is the path of the Sun as seen from the surface of Mercury around high noon. In this animation you can experience this typical Mercurian day.
THE SUN ON MERCURY
Because Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, the Sun would appear much larger than it does on Earth. Sunrise to sunset on the planet Mercury takes 176 Earth days where the sun would appear to grow and shrink in size. In this animation you can experience a different view of the Sun.
BEGINNERS FAST FACT CHALLENGE
Want to challenge yourself with some Mercurian Trivia? If so, check out the Fast Fact Challenge which contains questions about this mysterious planet.
ADVANCED FAST FACT CHALLENGE
If the Beginners Fast Fact Challenge wasn’t so challenging, test your knowledge here with more Mercurian trivia.
MESSENGER MOVIES
From take-off to its final flyby, watch the MESSENGER spacecraft’s journey to the planet Mercury. This site contains over 10 different movies.
PLANET MASS COMPARISON
The objects in our solar system have an enormous range of sizes and masses. This animation is intended to help you compare the masses of individual bodies ú the planets, our Moon, and the Sun.
