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What is unusual about Mercury's orbit and why?

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The orbit of Mercury is the most eccentric of the planets in our Solar System. The planet has an orbital period of 87.969 Earth days. At perihelion it is 46,001,200 km from the Sun and at aphelion it is 69,816,900 km, a difference of 23,815,700 km giving it an eccentricity of 0.21. read more

One of the unusual things about the orbit of Mercury is that it is highly elliptical : The orbit of Mercury is the most eccentric of the planets in our Solar System. The planet has an orbital period of 87.969 Earth days. read more

Compared to its orbital period of 88 days, this means that Mercury has a spin-orbit resonance of 3:2, which means that the planet makes three completes rotations on its axis for every two orbits it makes around the Sun. read more

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