Mercury Is So Hot, It’s Making Ice

The video explores the presence of water ice on Mercury, a planet with extreme temperatures. Despite surface temperatures reaching over 400°C, ice exists in craters near the poles. Mercury's unique rotation results in long periods of sunlight and darkness, causing temperature extremes. Theories suggest water arrived via asteroids or is created by solar particles reacting with Mercury's surface. This process, also seen on the Moon, may account for 10% of Mercury's ice, with the rest likely delivered by asteroids.

What surprising discovery did NASA's Messenger spacecraft make on Mercury in 2012?

• Alien life forms

• Volcanic activity

• Water ice

• Atmospheric storms

How does Mercury's rotation affect the presence of ice on its surface?

• It has no effect on ice formation

• It prevents any ice from forming

• It creates long periods of darkness, allowing ice to form

• It causes constant sunlight, melting all ice

What is the traditional theory for how water arrived on Mercury?

• Asteroid impacts

• Solar wind

• Volcanic eruptions

• Comet collisions

According to a 2020 study, how might Mercury be generating its own water?

• By absorbing moisture from space

• Via chemical reactions on its surface

• By capturing solar wind particles

• Through volcanic activity

What percentage of Mercury's ice might be explained by its own water creation process?

• 10%

• 75%

• 25%

• 50%