MERCURY
Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun. It is also the fastest-moving planet, whizzing round the sun in just 88 days. Being close to the Sun, Mercury gets extremely hot. Its surface is covered in thousands of craters, making it look rather like a moon.
How big is Mercury?
Mercury is the smallest of the rocky, Earth-like planets. With a diameter of only 4,880 kilometres, it is less than half the size of the Earth. The planet Pluto, a deep-frozen ball of rock and ice, is even smaller.
What is strange about Mercury’s orbit?
Most planets have a nearly circular orbit, or path, around the Sun. Mercury, however, has an oval orbit. At times it travels as far as 70 million kilometres away from the Sun. At others, it gets as close as 46 millions kilometres.
Why does Mercury get so hot?
As it travels around the Sun, Mercury spins so slowly on its axis that a point on its surface stays in the Sun for nearly six Earth-month at a time. With the Sun so close and shining for so long, surface temperatures on Mercury soar to 430°C- hot enough to melt metals such as tin and lead.
What has shaped Mercury’s surface?
Billions of years ago, all the planets were bombarded by huge meteorites. On Earth, most craters made up by the meteorites have been worn away by the action of the weather. Mercury has no weather because it has almost atmosphere. So all the craters that formed ages ago remain, and the whole planet is covered with them. A huge one, called the Calories Basin, was made by a giant meteorite that send shock waves throughout the planet.
What is Mercury made of?
Like the Earth and the other rocky planets, Mercury is made up of different layers. Underneath a rocky crust there is a rocky mantle, and at the centre, a huge metal core. The shrinking of the core has caused great ridges, up to 3 kilometres high, to appear on the surface.
Have any space probes visited Mercury?
Only one space probe has flown to study Mercury. Named Mariner 10, it flew to the planet in 1974, after visiting Venus. Its picture revealed for the first time that Mercury looked rather like some parts of the Moon. Mariner 10 flew past Mercury twice more. On the last occasion, in March 1975, it skimmed only about 300 kilometres above the surface.
MERCURY DATA
Diameter at equator: 4880km
Mass : 0.06 times Earth’s mass
Average distance from the Sun : 58 millions km
Minimum distance from the Earth : 91 millions km
Length of day : 59 Earth-days
Length of year : 88 Earth-days
Temperature : -185°C to 430°C
Satellites : 0
Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun. It is also the fastest-moving planet, whizzing round the sun in just 88 days. Being close to the Sun, Mercury gets extremely hot. Its surface is covered in thousands of craters, making it look rather like a moon.
How big is Mercury?
Mercury is the smallest of the rocky, Earth-like planets. With a diameter of only 4,880 kilometres, it is less than half the size of the Earth. The planet Pluto, a deep-frozen ball of rock and ice, is even smaller.
What is strange about Mercury’s orbit?
Most planets have a nearly circular orbit, or path, around the Sun. Mercury, however, has an oval orbit. At times it travels as far as 70 million kilometres away from the Sun. At others, it gets as close as 46 millions kilometres.
Why does Mercury get so hot?
As it travels around the Sun, Mercury spins so slowly on its axis that a point on its surface stays in the Sun for nearly six Earth-month at a time. With the Sun so close and shining for so long, surface temperatures on Mercury soar to 430°C- hot enough to melt metals such as tin and lead.
What has shaped Mercury’s surface?
Billions of years ago, all the planets were bombarded by huge meteorites. On Earth, most craters made up by the meteorites have been worn away by the action of the weather. Mercury has no weather because it has almost atmosphere. So all the craters that formed ages ago remain, and the whole planet is covered with them. A huge one, called the Calories Basin, was made by a giant meteorite that send shock waves throughout the planet.
What is Mercury made of?
Like the Earth and the other rocky planets, Mercury is made up of different layers. Underneath a rocky crust there is a rocky mantle, and at the centre, a huge metal core. The shrinking of the core has caused great ridges, up to 3 kilometres high, to appear on the surface.
Have any space probes visited Mercury?
Only one space probe has flown to study Mercury. Named Mariner 10, it flew to the planet in 1974, after visiting Venus. Its picture revealed for the first time that Mercury looked rather like some parts of the Moon. Mariner 10 flew past Mercury twice more. On the last occasion, in March 1975, it skimmed only about 300 kilometres above the surface.
MERCURY DATA
Diameter at equator: 4880km
Mass : 0.06 times Earth’s mass
Average distance from the Sun : 58 millions km
Minimum distance from the Earth : 91 millions km
Length of day : 59 Earth-days
Length of year : 88 Earth-days
Temperature : -185°C to 430°C
Satellites : 0
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