Mercury

Compiled by Donnette E Davis

www.staidenshomeschool.com
 Our Solar System

Mercury

'Mercury Facts'

• Mercury orbits around the Sun

faster than any other planet.
• Mercury's surface temperature
can vary from -180°C (-300°F)
to 430°C (800°F). On Earth,
the hottest temperature was
recorded at 58°C (136°F).
• There may be ice on the top
and bottom of Mercury.

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. It is a terrestrial planet. That means a
planet made from rock like Earth. It does not have a gas atmosphere, so there is
no weather. For a long time, only one spacecraft, Mariner 10, had visited
Mercury. In January 2008, the MESSENGER spacecraft went by Mercury. It will go
by Mercury two more times before starting to go around the planet in 2011.

How Big Is Mercury?

Mercury is 4879 km across. Mercury's diameter is just less than half the diameter
of the Earth. It is the smallest planet in the Solar System. Only dwarf planets like
Pluto are smaller. Mercury's small size and its closeness to the Sun sometimes
make it difficult to see without a telescope or binoculars. The best time to spot
Mercury in the sky is just after the sun goes down at night or shortly before it rises
in the morning.

What is Mercury's surface like?

Mercury has craters like those on the Earth's moon. The largest crater on Mercury
is the Caloris Basin. It is about 1300 km wide. It was created by a huge asteroid
hitting Mercury. The asteroid was probably 100 km wide, but it hit Mercury's
surface so hard that it made a much bigger hole.

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 Our Solar System
The surface also has big cliffs called scarps. They were made long ago when
Mercury cooled down. It shrank, causing the surface to get wrinkled in some
places. This wrinkling created the scarps.

There may also be ice on the

top and bottom of Mercury.
Like the Earth, these areas
(called poles) don't get much
warmth from the Sun. Any ice
there won't melt.

It is very hot during the day

(over 400°C) because Mercury
is so close to the Sun. At night it
is very cold because Mercury
loses almost all its heat since
there is almost no atmosphere
to keep the warmth there. The
temperature can fall to almost
-175°C.

How long is a day on this planet?

Mercury rotates (spins around) much more slowly than the Earth. It takes Mercury
58 days to spin once. Because Mercury orbits the sun very quickly, a day on
Mercury lasts longer than 58 days. If you were standing on Mercury, at the
equator and timed how long it took the sun to go from directly overhead to
sunset to sunrise and then rise directly overhead again, it would take 176 Earth
days. These long days and nights allow for the temperatures to rise as high, and
fall as low, as they do.

How long is a year on Mercury?

Mercury has the shortest year in the Solar System. It is about 88 Earth days long.

It used to be believed that the same side of Mercury always faced the Sun. In
order for this to be true, Mercury would have to take the same amount of time to
rotate (spin around) as it does to circle the sun. Through careful observation we
now know that Mercury's rotation is somewhat faster than its orbit. Because of
the way the orbit and rotation work together, on Mercury, a day is actually
almost twice as long as a year.

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 Our Solar System

What is Mercury made of?

The centre of Mercury is made of iron in partly-molten (liquid) form. We know that
it is iron at the centre because the planet generates a magnetic field. It contains
more iron for its size than any other planet in the Solar System. The rest of
Mercury, its thick crust, is made of a special type of rock called silicate rocks.
There are craters near the poles that are constantly in shadow. Some of these
craters contain ice. There is a huge crater on Mercury called Caloris Basin. It was
formed when a comet hit the planet and lava or molten rock filled the impact
crater. The round wall of this crater is over 2km tall.

How much would Mercury's gravity pull on me?

If you were on Mercury, it would pull you down less than half (38%) as much as
the Earth. An item that weighs 100 Newton on Earth, would only weigh 38
Newton on Mercury.

Who is this planet named after?

In Roman mythology, Mercury was the messenger of the gods. He wore a hat
and sandals with wings on them, allowing him to travel around the world very
quickly. The planet Mercury was named after him because it moves around the
Sun faster than any other planet in the Solar System. It moves nearly 48 km every
second!

A planet is a large space object which revolves around a star. It also reflects that star's light. Eight
planets have been discovered in our solar system. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are the planets
closest to the Sun. They are called the inner planets. The inner planets are made up mostly of rock.
The outer planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
are large balls of gases with rings around them. All eight planets travel around the Sun in a
different orbit. In its orbit, there are not many other objects like the planet.

Dwarf planets are objects that are similar to planets except that they orbit the Sun in areas where
there are many similar objects.

The Inner Planets The Outer Planets Dwarf Planets

Mercury Jupiter Pluto

Venus Saturn Ceres

Earth Uranus Eris

Mars Neptune Haumea

Makemake

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Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system. Mercury is

about the same size as our Moon. It is very close to the Sun.
Mercury travels around the Sun faster than any other planet.
That is how it got its name. It was named after Mercury, the
swift messenger of the gods in ancient Roman mythology.
Mercury can only be seen from Earth just before sunrise or
just after sunset, but not in the middle of the night. That is
because Mercury always appears near the Sun when viewed
from Earth. Mercury has a very thin atmosphere. Humans
would not be able to live there. The surface of Mercury has
holes in it where objects such as meteorites and asteroids
crashed into it.

• The temperature on Mercury gets so hot it could melt a tin

pan.
• Mercury can be seen by people on earth just before sunrise
or just after sunset on some clear nights.

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 Our Solar System

Fact Sheet

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What is Mercury?

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How big is Mercury?

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What is Mercury's surface like?

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How long is a day on this planet?

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How long is a year on Mercury?

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What is Mercury made of?

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How much would Mercury's gravity pull on me?

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Who is this planet named after?

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