Mercury

Mercury

This is the lesson on Mercury, there will be a quiz about the topic at the end.

Smallest

Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system—only slightly larger than Earth's Moon. 

Insider

It is the closest planet to the Sun at a distance of about 36 million miles (58 million kilometers) or 0.39 AU.

Long Days, Short Years

One day on Mercury (the time it takes for Mercury to rotate or spin once with respect to the stars) takes 59 Earth days. One day-night cycle on Mercury takes 175.97 Earth days. Mercury makes a complete orbit around the Sun (a year in Mercury time) in just 88 Earth days.

Rough Surface

Mercury is a rocky planet, also known as a terrestrial planet. Mercury has a solid, cratered surface, much like the Earth's moon.

Bad Composition

Mercury's thin atmosphere, or exosphere, is composed mostly of oxygen (O2), sodium (Na), hydrogen (H2), helium (He), and potassium (K). Atoms that are blasted off the surface by the solar wind and micrometeoroid impacts create Mercury's exosphere.

Moonless

Mercury has no moons. 

Ringless

Mercury has no rings. 

Tough Place To Live

No evidence for life has been found on Mercury. Daytime Temperatures can reach 430 degrees Celsius (800 degrees Fahrenheit) and drop to -180 degrees Celsius (-290 degrees Fahrenheit) at night. It is unlikely life (as we know it) could survive on this planet.

Big Sun

Standing on Mercury's surface at its closest approach to the Sun, our star would appear more than three times larger than it does on Earth.

Robo-Visitors

The two spacecraft of ESA-JAXA's BepiColombo are en route to Mercury. NASA's Mariner 10 was the first mission to explore Mercury. NASA's MESSENGER was the first to orbit the innermost planet.

Quiz Time!

There will be another quiz based on the website content.

Multiple Choice

how big is Mercury?

• Bigger than Jupiter

• Bigger than Earth

• Slightly larger than the Earth's moon

• Slightly larger than AI

• I don't know

Multiple Choice

How many rings does Mercury have?

• 0

• 3

• 8

• 1

• 2

Multiple Select

What is the distance of Mercury to the Sun?

• 36 million miles

• 36.1 million miles

• 58 million kilometers

• 68 million kilometers

• 0.39 AU