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Mercury is the first planet from the Sun and the smallest in the Solar System. In English, it is named after the ancient Roman god Mercurius ( Mercury ), god of commerce and communication, and the messenger of the gods. Mercury is classified as a terrestrial planet, with roughly the same surface gravity as Mars.
- 47.36 km/s
- 58.646 d, 1407.5 h
- 10.892 km/h (3.026 m/s)
- trace (≲ 0.5 nPa)
Apr 23, 2024 · Mercury, the innermost planet of the solar system and the eighth in size and mass. Its closeness to the Sun and its smallness make it the most elusive of the planets visible to the unaided eye. Because its rising or setting is always within about two hours of the Sun’s, it is never observable when the sky is fully dark.
- Clark R. Chapman
- How big is Mercury?Mercury has a radius of about 2,440 km, and its surface area is 74,797,000 km2. Its mass is 3.30 × 1023 kg. Mercury is the smallest major planet in...
- Why is it difficult to observe Mercury?Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system, and it is also the planet closest to the Sun, making it the most difficult of the planets to se...
- How far is Mercury from the Sun?Mercury's average orbital distance from the Sun is 58 million km (36 million miles) and it has the shortest year (a revolution period of 88 days)....
- How hot and cold does Mercury get?Two locations on Mercury’s equator are called hot poles, and surface temperatures there can exceed 700 kelvins (K; 800 °F, 430 °C). Surface tempera...
- Which moons in the solar system are larger than Mercury?Ganymede, a moon of Jupiter, and Titan, a moon of Saturn, are both larger than Mercury, the smallest major planet.
Learn about Mercury's features, exploration, and stories from NASA's experts and missions. Find out why Mercury is the fastest, hottest, and cratered planet in our solar system.
Learn about Mercury, the smallest and fastest planet in our solar system, and its surface, atmosphere, and magnetosphere. Find out how Mercury's orbit, rotation, and temperature affect its features and exploration.
- Structure and Surface
- Time on Mercury
- Mercury’s Neighbors
- Quick History
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Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system.Mercury is a terrestrial planet. It is small and rocky.Mercury has a thin exosphere.Mercury’s surface can be as hot as 800 degrees F during the daytime and as cold as -300 degrees F during the nighttime. (But Mercury is not the hottest planet in the solar system. The hottest plane...A day on Mercury lasts 59 Earth days.A year on Mercury lasts 88 Earth days.Mercury does not have any moons.Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun.Venus is Mercury’s neighboring planet.Mercury has been known since ancient times because it can be seen without advanced telescopes.Because it is so close to the Sun, Mercury is hard to study from Earth. No people have ever gone to Mercury, but two robotic spacecraft have visited. The spacecraft were called Mariner 10 and MESSE...MESSENGER mapped Mercury by taking pictures of the planet's surface, including some areas that had not been seen before. It also collected information about what the surface and insides of Mercury...Learn about Mercury, the smallest and fastest planet in our solar system. Find out how it looks, how it spins, what it is made of, and how we have explored it.
Learn about the smallest, hottest, densest and most cratered planet in the Solar System, and its history, features and exploration. Find out how Mercury is tidally locked to the Sun, has a molten core, wrinkles, and is named for the Roman messenger to the gods.
Jun 9, 2023 · Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and also the smallest planet in the solar system. The small and cratered planet does not have any moons and zips around the sun faster than any...
