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Chapter 11: Problem 13

If Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and has such a high average surface temperature, how is it possible that ice might exist on its surface?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Despite its high average surface temperature and proximity to the sun, ice can exist on Mercury due to its unique environmental characteristics. Mercury rotates slowly, causing extreme temperature differences between the side facing the sun and the other side. There are regions on Mercury's surface, specifically within deep craters at the poles, which remain in permanent shadow. Micrometeorites rich in water ice that strike Mercury's surface can leave behind water ice in these shadowed regions where it can stay indefinitely.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Mercury's Environment

Firstly, one should understand that Mercury, like any other planet, has certain unique environmental characteristics. It does not have an atmosphere like Earth, and consequently, cannot trap heat. As Mercury is close to the Sun, the side of the planet facing the Sun experiences extremely high temperatures while the other side is significantly cooler. This is because Mercury rotates slowly - takes about 59 Earth days to rotate once.
02

Identify Ice Trapping Spots

Next, it is important to establish that there are regions on Mercury's surface that remain in permanent shadow. These are located at the poles, within deep craters where sunlight never reaches.
03

Existence of Ice

Given Mercury's proximity to the Sun, its surface gets bombarded with a lot of tiny micrometeorites, which are heavy in water ice. These micrometeorites strike Mercury's surface, a process that occasionally breaks the bonds in the water, freeing hydrogen to escape into space and leaves water ice behind. If this ice ends up in one of the permanently shadowed regions (deep craters), it could stay there indefinitely, resulting in the existence of ice on Mercury's surface.

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