Simple Guide to our Solar System: Mercury

Mercury

The Basics

Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system and the closest planet to our Sun. An interesting fact, the Sun would appear three times as large in the sky and 11 times brighter than here on Earth.  But despite its close proximity to the Sun, it is not our hottest planet. The crown in that category belongs to Venus, Earth's twin sister. Mercury gets its name from the Roman God Mercury because it is the fastest planet in our solar system. Mercury completes its year around the Sun in only 88 Earth days. This means that the planet wisps around the Sun at a staggering 112,000 mph (180.000 km/h). Now you can see why it is named after the Roman God Mercury.

Characteristics

Mercury has a radius of 1,516 miles (2,440 km) and is only 36 million miles (58 million km) from the Sun. It takes light 3.2 minutes to travel from the Sun to Mercury and that is amazing. Mercury has an egg-shaped orbit known as an eccentric orbit. Other notable characteristics of Mercury are as follows:

• Completes one rotation every 59 Earth days
• Mercury does not experience seasons 
• One of 4 terrestrial planets in the solar system
• Aside from how close it is to the Sun, Messenger, a spacecraft sent by the planet has discovered water at Mercury's poles.
• It is the smallest planet in the solar system, only slightly larger than the Earth's moon.

Mercury is a terrestrial planet, one of 4 in the inner solar system. Terrestrial comes from the Latin phrase "Terra" which means Earth. The average density of the planet is 5.427 g/cm3 . Mercury's make up is similar to that of Earth's. Mercury has a molten Iron core surrounded by a mantle of superheated rock which is then surrounded by a crust rock layer.

NASA

Mercury, with colors enhanced to emphasize the chemical, mineralogical and physical differences among the rocks that make up its surface.

The surface of Mercury is an unforgiving one, with temperatures reaching close to 900 degrees in the sunlight. Although the surface is scorching hot, it is still not the hottest planet in our solar system! Can you guess which planet holds that title? Comment below! 

Interestingly enough, Mercury joins Earth as a planet with active plate tectonics. The inner mantle of the planet is cooling causing the planet to shrink. This action causes the surface of the planet to crack creating huge mountain ranges and rift valleys.

Mercury has a very thin exosphere that is composed of 42 percent oxygen, 29 percent sodium, 22 percent hydrogen, 6 percent helium, 0.5 percent potassium, with trace amounts of other elements. This exosphere is formed due to the intense solar winds and meteor impacts pounding the surface, blowing off atoms into space.

Thought Mercury was a complex planet, wait until you see the next stop on our journey! Stay tuned for the planet, Venus!

Click here to read about Venus!!

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