{"slug": "mercury-planet", "label": "Mercury (planet)", "wikipedia": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_%28planet%29", "wikidata": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q308", "qid": "Q308", "description": "first planet from the Solar System and smallest among all, tellurian and with extreme temperatures", "entries": 12, "years": 12, "span": [-319, 2020], "span_label": ["320 BCE", "2020 CE"], "topics": [{"title": "Science & Discovery", "count": 11}, {"title": "Births", "count": 1}], "related": [{"slug": "venus", "label": "Venus", "shared": 4}, {"slug": "nasa", "label": "NASA", "shared": 3}, {"slug": "saturn", "label": "Saturn", "shared": 3}, {"slug": "jupiter", "label": "Jupiter", "shared": 2}, {"slug": "mars", "label": "Mars", "shared": 1}, {"slug": "solar-system", "label": "Solar System", "shared": 1}, {"slug": "earth", "label": "Earth", "shared": 1}, {"slug": "european-space-agency", "label": "European Space Agency", "shared": 1}], "items": [{"year": -319, "year_label": "320 BCE", "section": "Births", "date": null, "text": "Timocharis of Alexandria, Greek astronomer responsible for the first recorded observation of Mercury and the first star catalogue (d. 260 BC)", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1166431272#Births", "title": "320 BC", "revid": 1166431272, "section": "Births"}}, {"year": 1705, "year_label": "1705 CE", "section": "Science & Discovery", "date": "July 20", "text": "July 20 – The planet Mercury transits Jupiter, as seen by astronomers from Earth. The event happens again on October 4, 1708, but will not be seen again from Earth until October 27, 2088", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1355353320#July–September", "title": "1705", "revid": 1355353320, "section": "Events › July–September"}}, {"year": 1737, "year_label": "1737 CE", "section": "Science & Discovery", "date": "May 28", "text": "May 28 – The planet Venus passes in front of Mercury. The event is witnessed during the evening hours, by the amateur astronomer John Bevis, at the Royal Greenwich Observatory. As of 2006, it is still the only such planet/planet occultation that has been directly observed.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1367176390#April–June", "title": "1737", "revid": 1367176390, "section": "Events › April–June"}}, {"year": 1808, "year_label": "1808 CE", "section": "Science & Discovery", "date": "December 9", "text": "December 9 – At 20:34 UTC, Mercury occults Saturn (there are no observation records).", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1369185588#October–December", "title": "1808", "revid": 1369185588, "section": "Events › October–December"}}, {"year": 1899, "year_label": "1899 CE", "section": "Science & Discovery", "date": "December 2", "text": "December 2 – During the new moon, a near-grand conjunction of the classical planets and several binocular Solar System bodies occur. The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars and Saturn are all within 15° of each other, with Venus 5° ahead of this conjunction and Jupiter 15° behind.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1371393177#December", "title": "1899", "revid": 1371393177, "section": "Events › December"}}, {"year": 1973, "year_label": "1973 CE", "section": "Science & Discovery", "date": "November 3", "text": "November 3 – Mariner program: NASA launches Mariner 10 toward Mercury (on March 29, 1974, it becomes the first space probe to reach that planet).", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373239256#November", "title": "1973", "revid": 1373239256, "section": "Events › November"}}, {"year": 2000, "year_label": "2000 CE", "section": "Science & Discovery", "date": "May 5", "text": "May 5 – A rare conjunction of seven celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, planets Mercury–Saturn) occurs during the new moon.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1371541477#May", "title": "2000", "revid": 1371541477, "section": "Events › May"}}, {"year": 2004, "year_label": "2004 CE", "section": "Science & Discovery", "date": "August 3", "text": "August 3 – NASA's MESSENGER space probe is launched, with its primary mission being the study of Mercury.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373088592#August", "title": "2004", "revid": 1373088592, "section": "Events › August"}}, {"year": 2007, "year_label": "2007 CE", "section": "Science & Discovery", "date": "June 5", "text": "June 5 – NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft makes its second fly-by of Venus on route to Mercury.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1370930640#June", "title": "2007", "revid": 1370930640, "section": "Events › June"}}, {"year": 2008, "year_label": "2008 CE", "section": "Science & Discovery", "date": "January 14", "text": "January 14 – At 19:04:39 UTC, the uncrewed MESSENGER space probe is at its closest approach during its first flyby of the planet Mercury.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1372634791#January", "title": "2008", "revid": 1372634791, "section": "Events › January"}}, {"year": 2018, "year_label": "2018 CE", "section": "Science & Discovery", "date": "October 19", "text": "October 19 – The uncrewed European-Japanese spacecraft BepiColombo is launched on a seven-year journey to Mercury.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373090883#October", "title": "2018", "revid": 1373090883, "section": "Events › October"}}, {"year": 2020, "year_label": "2020 CE", "section": "Science & Discovery", "date": "April 10", "text": "April 10 – The ESA/JAXA space probe BepiColombo makes its final gravity assist around Earth and begins to depart for Venus, where it will make several gravity assist maneuvers before finally arriving at Mercury in 2025.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1371633312#April", "title": "2020", "revid": 1371633312, "section": "Events › April"}}]}