Mercury is the smallest and innermost planet in the
Solar System.[a] Its orbital period (about 88 Earth days) is
less than any other planet in the Solar System. Seen from Earth, it appears to move around its orbit in about 116 days. It has no known natural satellites. It is named after the Roman deity Mercury, the messenger to the gods. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and due to its proximity it is not easily seen except during twilight. For every two orbits of the Sun, Mercury completes three rotations about its axis and up until 1965 it was thought that the same side of Mercury constantly faced the Sun. Thirteen times a century Mercury can be observed from the Earth passing across the face of the Sun in an event called a transit, the next will occur on the 9th May 2016. Mercury Planet Profile Diameter: Mass:
4,879 km
3.30 x 10^23 kg (5.5% Earth)
Moons: None Orbit Distance:
57,909,227 km (0.39 AU)
Orbit Period: 88 days
Surface Temperature: -173 to 427C First Record: 14th century BC Recorded By: Assyrian astronomers Mercury does not have any moons or rings.
Your weight on Mercury would be 38% of your weight on
Earth. A day on the surface of Mercury lasts 176 Earth days. A year on Mercury takes 88 Earth days. Mercury has a diameter of 4,879 km, making it the smallest planet. Its not known who discovered Mercury.
A year on Mercury is just 88 days long. One solar day
(the time from noon to noon on the planets surface) on Mercury lasts the equivalent of 176 Earth days while the sidereal day (the time for 1 rotation in relation to a fixed point) lasts 59 Earth days. Mercury is nearly tidally locked to the Sun and over time this has slowed the rotation of the planet to almost match its orbit around the Sun. Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System. One of five planets visible with the naked eye a, Mercury is just 4,879 km. across its equator, compared with 12,742 km. for the Earth. Mercury is the second densest planet. Even though the planet is small, Mercury is very dense. Each cubic centimeter has a density of 5.4 grams, with only the Earth having a higher density. This is largely due to Mercury being composed mainly of heavy metals and rock.
Mercury has wrinkles. As the iron core of the planet
cooled and contracted, the surface of the planet became wrinkled. Scientist have named these wrinkles, Lobate Scarps. These Scarps can be up to a mile high and hundreds of miles long. Mercury has a molten core. In recent years scientists from NASA have come to believe the solid iron core of Mercury could in fact be molten. Normally the core of smaller planets cools rapidly, but after extensive research, the results were not in line with those expected from a solid core. Scientists now believe the core to contain a lighter element such as sulphur, which would lower the melting temperature of the core material. It is estimated Mercurys core makes up 42% of its volume, while the Earths core makes up 17%. Mercury is only the second hottest planet. Despite being further from the Sun, Venus experiences higher temperatures. The surface of Mercury which faces the Sun sees temperatures of up to 427C, whilst on the alternate side this can be as low as -173C. This is due to the planet having no atmosphere to help regulate the temperature. Mercury is the most cratered planet in the Solar System. Unlike many other planets which self-heal through natural geological processes, the surface of Mercury is covered in craters. These are caused by numerous encounters with asteroids and comets. Most Mercurian craters are named after famous writers and artists. Any crater larger than 250 km. In diameter is
referred to as a Basin. The Caloris Basin is the largest
impact crater on Mercury covering approximately 1,550 km in diameter and was discovered in 1974 by the Mariner 10 probe. Only two spacecraft have ever visited Mercury. Owing to its proximity to the Sun, Mercury is a difficult planet to visit. During 1974 and 1975 Mariner 10 flew by Mercury three times, during this time they mapped just under half of the planets surface. On August 3rd 2004, the Messenger probe was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, this was the first spacecraft to visit since the mid 1970s. Mercury is named for the Roman messenger to the gods. The exact date of Mercurys discovery is unknown as it pre-dates its first historical mention, one of the first mentions being by the Sumerians around in 3,000 BC. Mercury has an atmosphere (sort of). Mercury has just 38% the gravity of Earth, this is too little to hold on to what atmosphere it has which is blown away by solar winds. However while gases escape into space they are constantly being replenished at the same time by the same solar winds, radioactive decay and dust caused by micrometeorites
Because the planet is so close to the sun, Mercury's
surface temperature can reach a scorching 840 degrees Fahrenheit (450 degrees Celsius). However, since this world doesn't have a real atmosphere to entrap any heat,
at night temperatures can plummet to minus 275 F
(minus 170 C), a temperature swing of more than 1,100 degrees F (600 degree C), the greatest in the solar system.
Mercury is the smallest planet it is only slightly
larger than Earth's moon. Since it has no significant atmosphere to stop impacts, the planet is pockmarked with craters. About 4 billion years ago, an asteroid roughly 60 miles (100 kilometers) wide struck Mercury with an impact equal to 1 trillion 1-megaton bombs, creating a vast impact crater roughly 960 miles (1,550 km) wide. Known as the Caloris Basin, this crater could hold the entire state of Texas. Another large impact may have helped create the planets odd spin.
Mercury apparently shrank as much as 4.4 miles (7 km)
as it cooled in the billions of years after its birth. This caused its surface to crumple, creating lobe-shaped scarps or cliffs, some hundreds of miles long and soaring up to a mile high. At the same time, the surface was constantly reshaped by volcanic activity in the planets past.
Mercury is the second densest planet after Earth, with a
huge metallic core roughly 2,200 to 2,400 miles (3,600 to 3,800 km) wide, or about 75 percent of the planet's
diameter. In comparison, Mercury's outer shell is only 300
to 400 miles (500 to 600 km) thick. The combination of its massive core and abundance of volatile elements has left scientists puzzled for years.
Although Mercury's magnetic field is just 1 percent the
strength of Earth's, it is very active. The magnetic field in the solar wind the charged particles streaming off the sun periodically touches upon Mercury's field, creating powerful magnetic tornadoes that channel the fast, hot plasma of the solar wind down to the planet's surface.
Mercury speeds around the sun every 88 Earth days,
traveling through space at nearly 112,000 mph (180,000 kph), faster than any other planet. Its oval-shaped orbit is highly elliptical, taking Mercury as close as 29 million miles (47 million km) and as far as 43 million miles (70 million km) from the sun. If one could stand on Mercury when it is nearest to the sun, it would appear more than three times as large as it does when viewed from Earth.
Oddly, due to Mercury's highly elliptical orbit and the 59
Earth-days or so it takes to rotate on its axis, when on the scorching surface of the planet, the sun appears to rise briefly, set, and rise again before it travels westward across the sky. At sunset, the sun appears to set, rise again briefly, and then set again.
Composition & structure
Atmospheric composition (by volume): No atmosphere: Mercury possesses an exosphere containing 42 percent oxygen, 29 percent sodium, 22 percent hydrogen, 6 percent helium, 0.5 percent potassium, with possible trace amounts of argon, carbon dioxide, water, nitrogen, xenon, krypton and neon. Magnetic field: Roughly 1 percent the strength of Earth's. Internal structure: Iron core roughly 2,200 to 2,400 miles (3,600 to 3,800 km) wide. Outer silicate shell about 300 to 400 miles (500 to 600 km) thick. [Inside Planet Mercury (Infographic)]
Orbit & rotation
Average distance from the sun: 35,983,095 miles (57,909,175 km). By comparison: 0.38 Earth's distance from the Sun. Perihelion (closest approach to sun): 28,580,000 miles (46,000,000 km). By comparison: 0.313 times that of Earth Aphelion (farthest distance from sun): 43,380,000 miles (69,820,000 km). By comparison: 0.459 times that of Earth Length of Day: 58.646 Earth-days