Mercury has such a thin atmosphere that it doesn’t really qualify as an atmosphere. Instead, scientists call this wispy layer of gas an exosphere, where the gas is so rarefied that it hardly ...

The layers of gases surrounding the surface of a planet make up what is known as an atmosphere. The atmospheres of the terrestrial planets range from thin to thick. Mercury has almost no atmosphere.

like Jupiter and Saturn—that has a substantial atmosphere. The other three that wear blankets of gas are Venus, Mars, and our own Earth. Why just these four? Why not also, say, Mercury ...

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs. The amount of mercury in our atmosphere is a little out of hand, and scientists may ...

Mercury is a toxic heavy metal that can exist stably as a gas, with high volatility and global distribution in the atmosphere. Volcanoes represent a primary natural source of Hg in the atmosphere ...