Together with these latest images, astronomers have ... Neither will come within 480 kilometers of the planet's surface, making these the closest visuals of Mercury we'll see for a while.

and the planet's largest impact crater. Mercury reflects two-thirds less light than Earth's Moon, making its surface appear remarkably dark. The flyby used gravity assist to steer BepiColombo closer ...

of the planet's surface. BepiColombo also passed right over Mercury's north pole. The spacecraft sent back a series of stark images, including photos of the perpetually shadowed Prokofiev ...

Since is has almost no atmosphere to retain heat, Mercury's surface experiences the greatest temperature variation of all the planets, ranging from 100 K at night to 700 K during the day.