The scientist called the negative influence of Mercury retrograde a myth from the Middle Ages.

The movement of Mercury in the opposite direction is exclusively an optical illusion, which is caused by the different speeds of the planets in their orbits, and does not have a negative impact on people's lives. This was announced on February 27 by a researcher at the Institute of Applied Astronomy (IPA RAS, St. Petersburg). Nikolai Zheleznov.

As the expert explained, all the planets move around the Sun in elliptical orbits, but they have different periods of rotation. If the Earth makes a complete revolution in about 365 days, then a year on Mercury lasts only about 88 days. Because of this difference in speed, Mercury overtakes our planet several times during the earth year.

"If we look from Earth at the orbits of the planets, then in certain situations, when one planet overtakes another, the illusion may arise in the projection onto the celestial sphere that the planet is starting to move in the opposite direction — this is called retrograde, retrograde motion," TASS quoted Zheleznov as saying.

The scientist emphasized that Mercury can have a similar effect three to four times a year, but the illusion is always short-lived, after which the planets begin to move in one direction again for an earthly observer. According to Zhezleznov, the negative effects attributed to this phenomenon are only an astrological myth rooted in the Middle Ages.

"Astrology is an ancient science, by the way, astrology and astronomy were once a single science. The famous scientist of the XVI–XVII century, Johannes Kepler, earned his living by making horoscopes. Many terms that are used in astronomy came from astrology, and then science and pseudoscience split up," he noted.

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In the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy at the Institute of Space Research (IKI) On February 25, the Russian Academy of Sciences reported that the Sun had experienced its strongest flare since the anomalous release of energy in early February. It was noted that more than 10 outbreaks occurred during the day, whereas the day before there was only one, and on Monday, February 23, there were zero.

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