Why is Mercury more than a scorched rock?

How can the nearest planet to the Sun hold polar ice and still have an active magnetic interior?

Investigate four apparent contradictions: a hot world with a freezing night, a small planet with an oversized core, a weak but global magnetic field, and water ice hidden beside the Sun.

Artistic scientific reconstruction of cratered Mercury divided by a sharp boundary between intense sunlight and deep darkness. — Artistic scientific reconstruction: Mercury's sharp light–dark boundary hints at extreme temperatures, while subtle field lines and polar shadow introduce the evidence investigated below.

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