Mercury

This is my first planet post!  Um... so... yea!

Photograph of Mercury, no copyright intended, by NASA

(Click "Read More! >>" to learn more about Mercury, see fast facts, more pictures, and a video too!)


Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, being only 35,983,085 miles (57,909,178 kilometers) away.  It's heavily cratered surface can reach up to 801 degrees Fahrenheit (427 degrees Celsius), but because it lacks an atmosphere, it's nighttime temperatures can plummet to -279 degrees Fahrenheit (-173 degrees Celsius).  It has many ray craters on it's surface, which are usually only found on moons.  The Caloris Basin is one of the largest features on Mercury, an 800 mile (1300 kilometers) depression created by a giant asteroid.  It's actually one of the largest known craters in the entire Solar System!  One year (how long it takes for it to travel around the Sun) on Mercury lasts 88 days, and a length of a day (how long it takes for it to rotate once) lasts 1470.5 hours!  It may orbit quickly, but it takes forever for it to rotate.  A man who weighs 200 lbs (90.72 kg) on Earth would only weigh 76 lbs (34.34 kg) on Mercury.  This is because Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System (poor Pluto, it's now considered dwarf planet), so it's gravity isn't as strong as Earth's.  Detailed maps of Mercury show a large blank area on it, showing that only 45% of it's surface has actually really been mapped.
Check out this cool interactive by NationalGeographic on Mercury!

Or Explore Mercury with NASA

Computer Generation of Mercury, no copyright intended, from solstation.com/

Size Comparison with large moons, no copyright intended, from starryskies.com

Fast Facts

Discovery: Known by the Ancients

Mass: 330,104,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg

Smallest Planet in the Solar System

Volume: 14,593,223,446 mi³ (60,827,208,742 km³)
Temperature: -279°F - 801°F (-173°C - 427°C)
Orbit: 35,983,085mi (57,909,178km) away from Sun

35,983,125mi (57,909,227km) Orbit Size

1 Mercury Year: 88 Earth days 

1 Mercury Day: 1,407.5 Earth hours

Moons: None

Features: Heavily Cratered Surface

Caloris Basin  

The Planet Mercury, by AggManUK