Introduction

The planet Mercury is very difficult to

study from the Earth because of its
proximity to the Sun. It is the second
smallest planet (it was believed to be
the smallest until the discovery that
Pluto is actually much smaller than
originally thought), and also the
fastest in its orbit since it is the
innermost planet.
 Mercury Orbit
Earth

Mercury, the
innermost planet, is
35,983,095 miles
Venus from the Sun on the
Sun average. It revolves
about the Sun once
every 88 days in an
Mercury
orbit that is the
most elliptical of
any planet except
Pluto.
A closer look at Mercury

Mariner 10’s
oblique view
of the craters
and
surroundings
on Mercury
Mariner 10

Mariner 10 flew over

Mercury at an altitude
of 756 km on in March
1974. It took many
photographs of the
surface of Mercury. Its
photographs cover
nearly half (the other
half is unexplored) the
surface area of the
planet Mercury.
 Mercury Statistics

Diameter: 3,030 Miles

Distance from Sun: 35,983,095 miles
Revolution Period about
the Sun: 88 Days

Rotation Period about Axis: 58.85 Earth Days

Number of Moons: None
FOR EARTH: FOR MERCURY:
Orbital Period: 365 days Orbital Period: 88 Earth
days

Rotation Period: 1 day Rotation Period: 59

Earth days
Information on Mercury

Mercury
A planet of extremes

Mercury is a lump of
rock, barely larger than
the Moon, living under
the fierce heat of the
burning Sun. It
experiences extremes
in temperature from
over 400°C at noon to
less than -150°C at
night.
Information on Mercury

On the surface Mercury

is very similar to our
Moon, a battered world,
scarred by aeons of
impacts by meteorites.
The surface is also
wrinkled, with great
ridges hundreds of
kilometers long called
scarps.
The inside of
Mercury is
more like the
Earth. It has a
core made of
iron, and the
centre may be
molten, kept
hot by
radiation deep
within the
core.
Roman God

Mercury originated as the

Roman god of commerce
and was prayed to mainly by
merchants. His name comes
from the Latin word "mercari"
meaning to deal or trade.
Later he came to be
associated with the Greek
God Hermes, adding
responsibility for messages
to his duties.
Artists rendition of Mercury
From Mercury, the
Sun appears two
and a half times
larger than it does
on Earth. The sky
would appear
black because
there's little
atmospheric
scattering of light.
One would be able
to see two bright
"stars," possibly
discernible as
cream-colored
Venus and blue-
colored Earth.
MESSENGER,
launched Aug. 3,
2004, is only the
second U.S.
spacecraft sent
to the planet,
and the first to
establish an
orbit.
Messenger
entered Mercury
orbit on 30th
September 2009,
and completed
its mission one
year later.