Mercury has permanent ice at its poles despite being the closest planet to the Sun
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Mercury has almost no atmosphere and a very slow rotation (one Mercury day = 176 Earth days). This means its poles are in near-permanent shadow, where temperatures never rise above -170°C. Water ice, possibly delivered by comets billions of years ago, has been confirmed by NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft sitting in these permanently shadowed craters. The planet nearest the Sun contains ice that has lasted billions of years.
The planet with surface temperatures reaching 430°C in sunlight has ice that has survived for billions of years just a few kilometres away in permanent shadow.
The Science Behind It
Mercury has almost no atmosphere and a very slow rotation (one Mercury day = 176 Earth days). This means its poles are in near-permanent shadow, where temperatures never rise above -170°C. Water ice, possibly delivered by comets billions of years ago, has been confirmed by NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft sitting in these permanently shadowed craters. The planet nearest the Sun contains ice that has lasted billions of years.
Why Your Brain Finds This Hard to Believe
OddlyHuman Editorial
VerifiedWritten and fact-checked by the OddlyHuman Behavioral Science Team. We verify all psychological, sociological, and historical claims against peer-reviewed journals, primary sources, and established encyclopedias to bring you accurate insights.
Read our Editorial Guidelines →“Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, has permanent ice at its poles. Proximity to a star means less than you think.”