Craters of Mercury Desk Sculpture

Mercury is the smallest planet in our Solar system and orbits closest to the Sun. It is named after the Roman god Mercury, who was the messenger of the gods. Observations of Mercury were first recorded on the Mul.Apin tablets, and were most likely made by an Assyrian astronomer around the 14th century BCE. Its original name was written in cuneiform and is transcribed as Udu.Idim.Gu\u, “the jumping planet”. Babylonian records dating back to the 1st millennium BCE refer to the planet as Nabu, after the messenger of the Babylonian gods.

This desk sculpture pays tribute to this planet and the mythical figure after which it is named.