Mercury
It's cute, it's cuddly, it's the closest planet to our Sun and it's a bit self-concious about its size. Yay Mercury! Guess what?
- Takes less than three months to orbit the Sun.
- It's not as hot as Venus.
- It is the smallest planet.
Because Mercury is so close to the Sun it will never be very far away from it in the sky. The few times you will see Mercury is within a couple of hours before sunrise or after sunset. Let's learn more:
| Distance from Sun: | |
|---|---|
| Closest: | 46,000,000 km (0.0 AU) |
| Farthest: | 70,000,000 km (0.0 AU) |
| Size: | |
| Volume: | 6.083x1010 km3 |
| Diameter: | 4,880 km |
| Mass: | 3.30x1023 kg |
| Motion: | |
| Year: | 88 E Days |
| Day: | 58.6 E Days |
| Other: | |
| Gravity: | .38 of Earth's |
| Temperature: | -168°C to 427°C |
Mercury gets its name from the god Mercury. He is known as the swift messenger which seems appropriate since Mercury moves around the sun faster than any other planet. Only two probes have been sent to Mercury.
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