Mercury: Facts & Figures

Discovered By Known by the Ancients

Date of Discovery Unknown
Average Distance from the Sun Metric: 57,909,175 km
English: 35,983,095 miles
Scientific Notation: 5.7909175 x 107 km (0.38709893 A.U.)
By Comparison: Earth is 1 A.U. (Astronomical Unit) from the Sun.
Perihelion (closest) Metric: 46,000,000 km
English: 28,580,000 miles
Scientific Notation: 4.600 x 107 km (0.3075 A.U.)
By Comparison: 0.313 x Earth
Aphelion (farthest) Metric: 69,820,000 km
English: 43,380,000 miles
Scientific Notation: 6.982 x 107 km (0.4667 A.U.)
By Comparison: 0.459 x Earth
Equatorial Radius Metric: 2,439.7 km
English: 1,516.0 miles
Scientific Notation: 2.4397 x 103 km
By Comparison: 0.3825 x Earth
Equatorial Circumference Metric: 15,329.1 km
English: 9,525.1 miles
Scientific Notation: 1.53291 x 104 km
Volume Metric: 60,827,200,000 km3
English: 14,593,200,000 mi3
Scientific Notation: 6.08272 x 1010 km3
By Comparison: 0.054 x Earth's
Mass Metric: 330,220,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg
Scientific Notation: 3.3022 x 1023 kg
By Comparison: 0.055 x Earth's
Density Metric: 5.427 g/cm3
By Comparison: 0.984 x Earth
Surface Area Metric: 74,800,000 km2
English: 28,900,000 square miles
Scientific Notation: 7.48 x 107 km2
By Comparison: 0.147 x Earth
Equatorial Surface Gravity Metric: 3.7 m/s2
English: 12.1 ft/s2

By Comparison: If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 38 pounds
on Mercury.
Escape Velocity Metric: 15,300 km/h
English: 9,500 mph
Scientific Notation: 4.25 x 103 m/s
By Comparison: Escape Velocity of Earth is 25,022 mph
Sidereal Rotation Period (Length of 58.646 Earth days
Day) 1407.5 hours
By Comparison: 58.64 x Earth
Mean Orbit Velocity Metric: 172,341 km/h
English: 107,088 mph
Scientific Notation: 47,872.5 m/s
By Comparison: 1.61 x Earth
Orbital Eccentricity 0.20563069
By Comparison: 12.3 x Earth
Orbital Inclination to Ecliptic 7 degrees
Equatorial Inclination to Orbit 0 degrees
By Comparison: Earth's equatorial inclination to orbit is 23.45 degrees.
Orbital Circumference Metric: 356,000,000 km
English: 221,000,000 miles
Scientific Notation: 3.56 x 108 km
By Comparison: 0.385 x Earth
Minimum/Maximum Surface Metric: -173/427 C
Temperature English: -279/801 F
Scientific Notation: 100/700 K
By Comparison: Earth's temperature range is ~ 185/331 K.
Atmospheric Constituents By Comparison: Earth's atmosphere consists mostly of N2, O2

Additional Information:
Namesake: Messenger of the Roman Gods
Successive Sunrises: 175.97 days