Mercury - The Swift Planet

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun in our solar system, only slightly larger than Earth's Moon. It belongs to the terrestrial planets. Its orbital speed around the Sun is higher than any other planet. The planet is named after the ancient Roman god of commerce.

Mercury is the smallest planet. Mercury's radius is smaller than that of Ganymede and Titan, the two largest moons in the solar system.

Mercury's surface resembles the Moon's surface, with many craters from meteorites and comets. Craters on Mercury are named after famous deceased artists, musicians, or authors.

10 Facts About Mercury

  • Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, but not the hottest. The highest temperature is on neighboring Venus. During the day, temperature on Mercury reaches 430°C, and at night it drops to -180°C.
  • Mercury is the fastest planet. A year here lasts only 88 Earth days, while a day lasts 175.97 Earth days. It turns out that one day on Mercury lasts longer than one year.
  • This is the smallest planet in the solar system. Mercury's diameter is about 4,880 km, which is approximately 1.5 times smaller than Earth's.
  • Mercury's atmosphere is very thin, with pressure 5•10¹¹ times less than Earth's. There's nothing to breathe here.
  • Mercury has no satellites and no rings. In the solar system, there are only 2 such planets - Mercury and Venus.
  • Mercury has a comet-like tail over 2.5 million km long. The first image of this tail was obtained in June 2006.
  • Mercury is the least studied terrestrial planet. Mercury has been explored by only two spacecraft - Mariner 10 and Messenger.
  • From Mercury's surface, the Sun appears 3 times larger than from Earth's surface.
  • Mercury's surface resembles the Moon's surface. There are many craters here.
  • In 2012, a crater region resembling Mickey Mouse's face was discovered on Mercury's surface.