<P> Mercury's magnetic field is strong enough to deflect the solar wind around the planet, creating a magnetosphere . The planet's magnetosphere, though small enough to fit within Earth, is strong enough to trap solar wind plasma . This contributes to the space weathering of the planet's surface . Observations taken by the Mariner 10 spacecraft detected this low energy plasma in the magnetosphere of the planet's nightside . Bursts of energetic particles in the planet's magnetotail indicate a dynamic quality to the planet's magnetosphere . </P> <P> During its second flyby of the planet on October 6, 2008, MESSENGER discovered that Mercury's magnetic field can be extremely "leaky". The spacecraft encountered magnetic "tornadoes"--twisted bundles of magnetic fields connecting the planetary magnetic field to interplanetary space--that were up to 800 km wide or a third of the radius of the planet . These twisted magnetic flux tubes, technically known as flux transfer events, form open windows in the planet's magnetic shield through which the solar wind may enter and directly impact Mercury's surface via magnetic reconnection This also occurs in Earth's magnetic field . The MESSENGER observations showed the reconnection rate is ten times higher at Mercury, but its proximity to the Sun only accounts for about a third of the reconnection rate observed by MESSENGER . </P> <P> Mercury has the most eccentric orbit of all the planets; its eccentricity is 0.21 with its distance from the Sun ranging from 46,000,000 to 70,000,000 km (29,000,000 to 43,000,000 mi). It takes 87.969 Earth days to complete an orbit . The diagram on the right illustrates the effects of the eccentricity, showing Mercury's orbit overlaid with a circular orbit having the same semi-major axis. Mercury's higher velocity when it is near perihelion is clear from the greater distance it covers in each 5 - day interval . In the diagram the varying distance of Mercury to the Sun is represented by the size of the planet, which is inversely proportional to Mercury's distance from the Sun . This varying distance to the Sun leads to Mercury's surface being flexed by tidal bulges raised by the Sun that are about 17 times stronger than the Moon's on Earth . Combined with a 3: 2 spin--orbit resonance of the planet's rotation around its axis, it also results in complex variations of the surface temperature . The resonance makes a single solar day on Mercury last exactly two Mercury years, or about 176 Earth days . </P> <P> Mercury's orbit is inclined by 7 degrees to the plane of Earth's orbit (the ecliptic), as shown in the diagram on the right . As a result, transits of Mercury across the face of the Sun can only occur when the planet is crossing the plane of the ecliptic at the time it lies between Earth and the Sun . This occurs about every seven years on average . </P>

What is the distance between murcury and the sun
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