Mercury (planet) 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
The empire on which the sun never sets ring, the phrase is sometimes used critically with the implication of American imperialism, as in the title of Joseph Gerson's book, "The Sun Never Sets: Confronting the Network of Foreign U.S. Military Bases". The empire on which the sun never sets The phrase "the empire on which the sun never sets" has been used with variations to describe certain global empires that were so extensive that there was always at least one part of their territory that was in daylight. It was originally coined for the Spanish Empire, mainly in the 16th and 17th centuries. In more recent times, it