Seven years ago, on August 3, 2004, MESSENGER left Earth aboard a three-stage Boeing Delta II rocket to begin a journey that would take it more than 15 laps through the solar system, through six planetary flybys, and ultimately into orbit around Mercury.

On May 6th, MESSENGER began its 100th orbit around Mercury.

The solar system's innermost planets are about to put on a beautiful show.

The planets Mercury and Venus will put on a good show for skywatchers throughout April, according to the editors of StarDate magazine.

WASHINGTON, April 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A NASA spacecraft gliding over the surface of Mercury has revealed that the planet's atmosphere, the interaction of its surrounding magnetic field with the solar wind, and its geological past display greater levels of activity than scientists first suspected.