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