Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. Here are some facts and other places you can find information.
Mercury is a battered and baked planet just larger than Earth's moon. Evidence of heavy bombardment from the chaos of the formation of the solar system is left in the hundreds of craters and resulting lava flows on this small, barren planet. The largest crater is Beethoven at 643 km in diameter and is the largest in the solar system. The largest feature, Caloris Basin, is 1300 km in diameter and was probably caused by an impact from an object larger than 100 km in diameter. Some craters have ice in them (in spite of the fact that Mercury is so hot) because the sun never reaches into the shadows due to the planet's tilt and orbit. With no atmosphere, there is a temperature difference of about 600 degrees between the coldest spots and hottest spots on the planet.
Mercury orbits the sun in about 88 Earth days but takes 58 Earth days to rotate once on its own axis. Because Mercury's rotation takes 58 (earth) days, its year is only a Mercurian day and a half!
Gravity and You
Your weight on Earth is determined by your mass and Earth's mass. Would you weigh more or less on Mercury?
Planet Names
Why are the planets named for Roman gods?
Is there a story or myth about the sun?
Click image or here for Planet Myths and Lore.
Planetary Scavenger Hunt!You will need to gather some facts,
compare your data and answer some questions.
Click here to blast off!
| Quick Facts about the Mercury | |
| Topic | Data |
| Diameter | 4879.4 km |
| Density | 5.43 g/cm3 |
| Mass | 3.303 x 1023 kg |
| Volume | 6.084 x 1010 km3 |
| Temperature Range | -173° C to 427° C |
| Atmosphere | Some Hydrogen, Helium, Oxygen |
| Winds | None |
| Moons | None |
| Average Distance from Sun | 57,910,000 km |
| Orbital Period | 0 Years, 87 Days, 23.3 Hours |
| Rotation | 58 Days, 15.5 Hours |
| Tilt | 0.00° |
| Rings | None |
| Composition | Iron Core, Silicate Surface |
| Magnetic Field | Slight |
All external links open in a new tab.
Close the tab to return to Kid's Cosmos.
|
Return to Top Menu Return to the Space Center |
Can't Find It?Ask Cosmos, the Research Robot. |
Kids' Cosmos… Expanding Minds Beyond the Limits of the Universe
P.O. Box 14077, Spokane, WA 99206-4077
© 2011 Kid's Cosmos
E-mail:
