MERCURY

Roman messenger god(also the god of travelers)

Last updated:

USA[07/25/19]

NZL[25/07/19]

-[Orbit|Name Origin]

Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System and is the closest to the Sun. Since it's the closest to the Sun, it orbits the fastest because the Sun's gravitational pull is stronger. It only takes 87.97 days to do one full orbit around the Sun! In ancient times, people thought Mercury was two planets because it orbited so fast. So that's where it gets its name. Mercury is the Roman messenger god(also the god of travelers). In Roman mythology, Mercury was fast and quick.

-[Weather|Temperature|Craters]

You might think that since Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, it would be the hottest. But that spot would go to Venus. This is because Mercury has no atmosphere to regulate temperatures and results in the most extreme temperature change of all planets. Mercury is still a burning hot planet with temperatures that can reach 427 degrees Celsius(800.6 Fahrenheit) at day and -173 Celsius(-279.4 Fahrenheit) at night. Mercury also does not experience season changes because it has the smallest tilt of all other planets. Surprisingly ice has been found at the poles of Mercury. Scientists believe that asteroids were the cause of the ice. Craters are not rare on Mercury. In fact, it is the most cratered planet in the Solar System with its largest crater, Caloris Basin, being 1,550km(930mi) in diameter. Most of the Mercurian craters are named after famous writers and artists.

-[Satellites|Sun Rise|Probes|Magnetic Field]

Even though Mercury has no moon or ring system, it has something else that is special. Sometimes Mercury can have two sunrises! The Sun rises for a bit, then stops, it then reverses and sets where it came from, then rises again rapidly. This amazing sunrise happens over the course of eight days. It is very difficult to send a space probe to Mercury because of the heat and distance. Only a few space probes have visited Mercury including Mariner 10(which flew by in 1974 and 1975). Mariner 10 mapped about half of the planet's surface, discovered Mercury's thin atmosphere, and detected its magnetic field which is very weak.

-[Theories]

It was once believed that a planet existed between Mercury and the Sun called Vulcan. However, no existence of the planet has been found.

-Notes-

Type- Terrestrial

Made of- Crust[Solid, silicate] | Mantle[solid, silicate] | Outer Core[solid, iron sulfide] | Inner Core[Solid] |

Temperature- Day(427 C)(800 F) Night(-180 C)(-290 F)

Diameter- 4,879.4 km

Mass- 3.285 x 10^23kg

Distance from Sun- 57.91 million km (varies)

Distance from Earth- 77 million km (varies)

Images below-