Don’t keep posting about Mercury retrograde on your Moments! You can’t blame Mercury for your bad luck

Hello everyone, I am Mercury, the most wronged planet in the entire solar system.

Not long ago, Big Brother Earth recommended me something called Moments, saying it could relieve the loneliness in the middle of the night. I tried it and found that humans seemed to dislike me and said I cursed all of humanity? From small things like being late due to traffic jams to big things like losing headphones due to illness, could everything be blamed on me?

The topics that are flooding my friend circle are " Go away, stop Mercury retrograde" and "Forbid Mercury retrograde ". I am confused. Humans and I have always kept our distance from each other, and they have not even sent many probes to me. Why do humans hate me so much?

No.01

Astrology, the oldest pseudoscience!

In the East of the Earth, there is a doctrine with thousands of years of history - astrology. It is considered one of the oldest pseudosciences in human civilization.

In ancient times, farmers would use astronomical phenomena to predict the weather and choose the time to sow seeds, while people in high positions would use them to deduce divination, hoping to "know the will of heaven". In the past, almost all special astronomical phenomena visible to the naked eye were labeled as "good luck" or "bad luck", such as if a solar eclipse occurred, the country would perish; if Mars approached Antares (Yinghuo in the heart), the emperor would die, etc.

One of the chapters in "Strategies of the Warring States" of the Western Han Dynasty, "Tang Ju did not disgrace his mission", records: "When Zhuan Zhu assassinated King Liao, a comet hit the moon; when Nie Zheng assassinated Han Kui, a rainbow pierced the sun." Similar situations also occur in the West, such as the prophecy that once a blood moon appears, the devil will be resurrected and a catastrophe is about to come.

However, as human astronomy matured, these celestial phenomena became less mysterious. But one celestial phenomenon inexplicably became the scapegoat.

That's right! I am the one who takes the blame. Whenever something goes wrong, some people will lament whether they have Mercury retrograde recently. In response, I personally say: You really can't blame me for your bad luck!

No.02

Eight brothers are running in a circle, and I am the only one being targeted?

Let me explain to you humans, "Mercury retrograde" is the full name of "Mercury retrograde". It's just that in ancient astrology, Mercury retrograde affects memory, communication, transportation, and communication, and will slow down the progress of related matters. This is why I have been blamed for so many things.

You all should know that from the perspective of the North Pole, the eight of us brothers all revolve around the sun counterclockwise. However, do you really think I am so amazing that I can revolve clockwise after revolving counterclockwise? Of course not!

Mercury retrograde means that as seen from Earth, it moves in one direction for a while and then moves back.

Mercury retrograde observation trajectory (Source: Stellarium)

As the planet closest to the sun, I have to endure a lot! I experience the scorching heat of the sun during the day and the temperature drops to below zero at night. Not only do I have to endure the test of ice and fire, but in order to avoid falling into the sun, I can only orbit the sun at high speed, so I have become the most diligent among the eight of us.

My orbital period is about 88 Earth days, which means that the time it takes for the Earth to orbit the sun is enough for me to run 4 laps. So I will catch up with the Earth once every once in a while. If you look at me from the Earth at this time, it will be as if I was walking forward and suddenly started to move backwards.

For example, the earth and I are running forward in the same direction on the same track, but I run much faster than the earth, and soon I run to the other side of the track, while the earth is still running on this side. From the perspective of the earth, I am also running retrograde. This is the truth about Mercury retrograde!

Mercury retrograde cycle (Image source: NASA Mercury retrograde video)

Also, the eight of us brothers all have different orbital speeds and different sizes of circles around the sun, which means that in addition to Mercury retrograde, there are also Mars retrograde, Venus retrograde, Uranus retrograde, Neptune retrograde, etc. Obviously, my brothers are all retrograde, so why am I the one who takes the blame?

I can only blame myself for being too hardworking. Because of the fastest orbital speed, you humans can wait for Mercury to retrograde once every three or four months, while Mars only retrogrades once every two years, and Venus once a year and a half. Compared with them, my frequency of three or four times a year makes me more suitable to be the scapegoat for today's young people.

NO.03

My name has a great origin!

Gold, wood, water, fire and earth, our five brothers were actually discovered by you humans as early as BC. The world's earliest astronomical work "Five Star Divination" recorded the movements of the five planets in detail, recorded the exact positions of Gold, Wood and Saturn from 246 BC to 177 BC, and calculated the orbital periods.

However, there is a record in "Huangdi Neijing Suwen": "The north is black, entering the kidneys... It corresponds to the four seasons, and the star Chen is above." Chen is me, because I can only be seen by the naked eye in the morning and evening. The ancients even thought that I in the morning and I in the evening were two completely different planets.

My current name comes from the Five Elements Theory of the Western Han Dynasty.

In addition, the earliest records about me can be traced back to your ancient Babylonian civilization. At that time, the ancient Babylonians were able to use the more complex mathematical method of broken line function to more accurately calculate the orbits of planets and compile ephemeris to predict the positions of planets.

By the time of the Roman Empire, the names of the five planets were basically determined. I was named Mercury , which is the name of the messenger in the ancient Roman gods. He was often painted with wings on his feet, symbolizing that he was flying fast when delivering letters. I was given this name because I revolve very fast.

Venus was named after the goddess of beauty Venus because it often appears at sunrise or sunset and is particularly bright, while Jupiter was named after the king of all living things Jupiter because of its huge size. Mars was named after the god of war because the red color on the surface of the planet was seen as a symbol of bloodshed and war. The reason why Saturn was named after the god of agriculture is also related to its color.

The sculpture "Flying Mercury" is now in the National Museum of Florence, Italy

Image source: Sohu.com

NO.04

Mercury, Moon, can’t tell them apart?

Indeed, my appearance looks very much like the moon. Due to frequent impacts, my surface is covered with potholes and craters, but in fact my interior is similar to the earth.

Because they are all rocky planets and do not emit light themselves, their geological structures are divided into three parts: crust, mantle, and core. The only difference is that my core accounts for 55% of the total volume, while the Earth's core only accounts for 17%.

Mercury and the Moon (Source: Stellarium)

Although I am a mature rocky planet, I am composed of 30% rock and 70% metal, which makes me more like a metal planet. So don’t look at me as the smallest among the eight of us, but my density is very high. I am only ranked second in the family, second only to the Earth, and the difference in density between me and the Earth is very small. It can be said that if I were the same size as the Earth, my gravity would be about the same as the Earth.

Because I am too close to the sun, the temperature is high and the rotation is slow, you have always believed that I have no atmosphere and magnetic field. But the fact is that I have both an atmosphere and a magnetic field, but my atmosphere is very thin and my magnetic field is relatively weak, which makes Brother Mars very jealous.

But I also envy Mars, who has satellites to accompany him. At home, Jupiter has more than 70 satellites! Ganymede is even bigger than me, and even dwarf planets like Uncle Pluto have satellites. In the whole family, only Venus and I don’t have satellites, and no one usually talks to me.

Oh, there is another rumor - there is no water on Mercury and no fire on Mars. Indeed, my environment is not suitable for the existence of water. In addition to being too close to the sun, my surface pressure is also very low, only about 1/50 billion of a Pa. You know, the surface pressure of the earth is 100,000 Pa! In such an ultra-low pressure and ultra-high temperature surface environment, any water will evaporate into space.

But this extreme surface environment does not mean that I have no water. Although the temperature of my sun-facing side is as high as over 400 degrees, my shadow side is only minus 173 degrees Celsius. In addition, my stellar axis is almost vertical, with a slope of only 2 degrees, so there is a permanent shadow area at my North Pole, where there is a large amount of water ice, about one quadrillion kilograms.

Seeing this, I think everyone understands how hard it is for me to survive in this family. Marie Curie once said: "The invisible world is not a fantasy, but a real existence illuminated by the light of science."

After my personal explanation, I believe that everyone's knowledge has increased. So, please don't use me as an excuse for your bad luck!

References

[1] Chen Xianying, Shao Chengwu. Why do planets move in retrograde motion? [J]. Physics Teacher, 2013, 34(05): 57-58.

[2] Song Yuanyuan. Have you experienced Mercury retrograde today? — The secret of planetary retrograde motion[J]. Encyclopedia Exploration (Aerospace), 2020, (09): 4-9.

Author: Zhang Jinxuan

Chongqing native, heavy science fiction and mystery fan

Won 3 provincial literary awards

His works are scattered in "Legends of the Past and Present", "Inside and Outside the Classroom", "Young TV University World", "Red Forest", etc.

Editor: Dong Xiaoxian

Reviewer: Zhang Chao, Li Peiyuan