Science & Discovery:
A Giant Step for Humanity: Making Space Accessible
In the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games’ Opening Ceremonies, former Paralympic Bronze medalist and orthopedic surgeon, John McFall, carried the Paralympic flag. He may be breaking a new record as well: being the first person with disabilities to go into outer space.
Astro News
Does the Sun Have Polar Vortices Like the Planets?
Most planets in our solar system have polar vortices. If there is an atmosphere, it swirls at the poles in either a single polar cyclone (PC) encircling the axis of rotation, as on Earth; or as a series of separate circumpolar cyclones (CPCs) that cluster near the axis; or both. But does the Sun
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History & Culture
Column: Taking in the Moon on a Gondola Ride
Getting around on the Moon is trickier than you might think. Flying isn’t a practical option because of a complete lack of atmosphere to support a glider or balloon. Trains could work, but how do we lay miles upon miles of rails?
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Mercury is an online magazine focusing on the various ways astronomy intersects with science, education, culture, history, and art.
Education & Inspiration
Column: Education Matters: Inspiring the Sun-Earth Connection
Several years ago, the author incorporated astronomy and the connections between the Sun and Earth into a year-long physical science course. It was a successful experiment and captured his student's interest.
Science & Discovery
Column: Taking in the Moon on a Gondola Ride
Getting around on the Moon is trickier than you might think. Flying isn’t a practical option because of a complete lack of atmosphere to support a glider or balloon. Trains could work, but how do we lay miles upon miles of rails?
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Education & Inspiration
Column: A Little Learning: Poetry in Motion
Poets have long conveyed the ethereal experience of witnessing a total solar eclipse. Perhaps it’s time to give students something beyond diagrams and demonstrations, and let poetry accompany them.
Science & Discovery
Book Review: Life Among the Stars
A new book explores life, its origins, and its prevalence in the solar system and greater cosmos.
History & Culture
Column: The Hottest Topic is Ancient Astronomy
The most fashionable aspect of the history of astronomy in 2024 is from ancient times. With discoveries from two sites, these old, cold stones are the focus of recent research and news.
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History & Culture
Book Review: Our Debt to the Moon
A new book takes the reader through the connections between the Moon and our planet’s earliest era, modern-day life, and everything in between.
Science & Discovery
Feature: Losing Silence
Near-Earth space isn't just getting brighter and more crowded. Invisible to the unaided eye, radio pollution is overpowering faint signals from the cosmos and threatening radio astronomy's "quiet zones."
Science & Discovery
From the Archives: An Interview with Stephen W. Hawking
In 1975, a member of the ASP Board of Directors interviewed Stephen W. Hawking for Mercury. They discussed black holes, Hawking radiation, and more profound discoveries in astrophysics.
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Astro News
Translating Data into Sound Aids Learning
According to a new study, people from both sighted and blind-and-low-visual communities report that audio representations of data enhanced the learning experience and inspired them to learn more about the universe.
History & Culture
Feature: From Apollo to Artemis
Today's space exploration initiatives, including NASA's Artemis, are only the tip of the figurative iceberg of women’s contributions to spaceflight. And society is getting better at telling the stories of female astronauts and cosmonauts.
Astro News
Found: Three Ancient Stars
What started as a classroom project has led to the discovery of several stars that formed some 12 to 13 billion years ago and currently reside in our Milky Way Galaxy's outer diffuse "halo" — making them some of the oldest stars yet found.
History & Culture
From the Archives: An Interview with Carl Sagan
In a conversation five decades ago, former Mercury editor Richard Reis discussed with Carl Sagan the problems of both interstellar and interhuman communication, the need for a greater reliance on rationality, the anti-science movement at that time, and his own research efforts in planetary science.
Science & Discovery
Feature: A complex storm and its complex history
Humankind has been enamored with Jupiter's Great Red Spot since shortly after the telescopic age began. Now, hundreds of years of observations are revealing a more complete picture of the atmospheric feature.
Science & Discovery
Feature: Vatican Astronomers Aid the Search for Solar System Origins
To measure the physical properties of asteroid Bennu's sample material, NASA is using an instrument provided by a scientist who is employed by a different government: the Vatican.
Art & Imagination
From the Archives: Approaching the Universe Through Art
In an attempt to explore the philosophical relationship between art and astronomy, artist Iris Reis talks with prominent California artists whose works echoes their cosmic concern.
Education & Inspiration
Column: Education Matters: Science as a Creative Endeavour
Incorporating the arts into science curricula promotes deeper relationships with the natural world.
Education & Inspiration
From the Archives: Creative Teaching with Astronomically Inspired Music
How incorporating music in astronomical teaching can not just reinforce science concepts, but also expand students’ awareness of the creative aspects of music.
History & Culture
Feature: How Amateur Astronomy Has Evolved
Amateur astronomy has changed drastically over the past couple hundred years, but it’s always encouraged people to look up.
Science & Discovery
Feature: Searching Hubble’s Archive for Hidden Gems
Because of its data collection and archival system, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed how — and who — can do science.
History & Culture
Column: Our Island Universe: Two Small Pieces of Glass Ushered in a Revolution in Science
In January 1610, Galileo Galilei made a series of observations that would forever change how humanity views the cosmos.
Mercury is distributed by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, a nonprofit organization dedicated to astronomy literacy, education, and outreach.
Mercury is an advertisement-free publication.
