Mercury-The small and rocky planet of Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. I goes very fast around the sun and takes 88 days for a complete orbit. One day, or complete rotation takes 176 Earth days. The surface of Mercury is very similar to the Earth's Moon. It has lots of craters from collisions with meteors, areas of smooth terrain, and also cliffs (some up to a mile high). Mercury is the second smallest planet in the solar system. In fact, if Earth were the size of a baseball, Mercury would be the size of a golf ball. Even though Mercury is very close to the Sun, there may be water ice on its north and south poles. The ice is inside deep craters and covered by shadows where the Sun cannot melt it.
- Mercury is the planet which is closest to the Sun.
- It is one of the four inner planets. These planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. The inner planets are also called the rocky planets, because they are made of rocks.
1 Earth year = about 4 Mercury years!! - Mercury is about 1/3 as big as earth.
Mercury
Fast Facts:
- Name: Messenger of the Roman Gods
- Orbital Period: 88 days
- Number of Moons: 0
- Number of Rings: 0
- Gravity: .38 of Earth's
- Temperature Range: -183 C (night) to 467 C (day)
- Diameter: 4,879 km
- Atmosphere (primary components): Oxygen, Sodium, Helium