The first planet in the solar system, Mercury is one of the least explored planets as it is situated very close to the sun.Mercury does not have any moon of its own as its close proximity to the Sun means that any moon would be pulled away by the immense gravity of the star. The closeness to the Sun means that it gets very difficult to send any spacecraft to the planet without it getting damaged both to the Sun’s gravitational pull and the high temperatures.Named after the Roman god with winged feet, Mercury is the second densest planet in the Milky Way after Earth. Did you know that the number of craters on Mercury is greater than any other planet in the solar system? Although situated closest to the Sun, Mercury’s surface is not the hottest. That crown goes to Venus since Mercury has no atmosphere to trap the solar heat. In recent years, scientists have come to the belief that Mercury has a molten core at its center quite similar to Earth’s. It is interesting to note that despite being so close to the sun, water ice is present on the planet’s surface near its north pole.If you found this article interesting and helpful, you might want to look into facts about electricity and facts about the Earth’s crust.Mercury And Its MoonA special feature of Mercury is that it does not have any notable moons of its own, neither does it have any ring like Saturn.The only other planet without any moon or ring in the solar system is Venus. The huge gravitational pull of the Sun is the reason behind the lack of any moon on Mercury. Scientists are of the opinion that Mercury did have moons at some time in the past but they have been pulled away by the Sun.Although it is the closest planet to the Sun, Mercury is not the hottest planet. That credit goes to Venus which has an atmosphere that is so dense that all the heat is trapped inside from the greenhouse gases. Mercury, on the other hand, does not even have any proper atmosphere. This is due to two factors. Firstly, it has a much lesser gravity than Earth, and thereby Mercury is not able to retain any kind of atmosphere. Secondly, Mercury gets bombarded constantly with solar winds as the sun is very close to it. The solar winds carry off any trace of the atmosphere that gets accumulated. The extreme variation of temperature is due to the lack of this atmosphere.Mercury In Retrograde MeanMercury in retrograde is a term that is used when it appears that the planet is going backward in its orbit. It is nothing but an optical illusion that takes place a number of times in a year.The illusion of Mercury going back happens because a complete revolution of Mercury around the sun takes only 88 Earth days. Many people believe that when this happens, everything goes wrong in our lives. Astrologers strongly agree with this view and they say that certain difficulties might arise during this time related to travel and communication. Three cycles of Mercury in retrograde occurs in a year with the last happening in October. Negative connotations are associated with this term when it comes to astrology.Mercury Distance From The SunNo other planet is as close to the Sun as Mercury is. This significantly affects the temperature and Mercury’s atmosphere.Mercury is situated at a distance of about 35 million mi (57 million km) from the Sun. Among all the terrestrial planets, it is also the smallest. Mercury has also the distinction of being the smallest planet in the Milky Way. Mercury is just slightly larger than Earth’s moon with a diameter of 3,032 mi (4,880 km). Mercury is the densest after Earth due to its molten iron core that takes up 75% of the diameter. It has a thin outer shell that is about 300 mi (500 km) thick.A report indicates that Mercury is shrinking in size to date and it was 9 mi (14 km) larger, 4 billion years ago. The shrinking is believed to happen in Mercury’s core that is essentially an iron core that is cooling and becoming solid. The reduction in volume has some effect on Mercury’s surface as well. The surface gets crumpled along with the formation of lobe-shaped cliffs that soar to great heights and cover hundreds of miles of distance. This makes the planet Mercury a rocky planet. The Great Valley of Mercury is larger than USA’s Grand Canyon. The surface has been reshaped time and again due to volcanoes that ceased to exist 3.5 billion years ago. It has been discovered quite unexpectedly that Mercury has a magnetic field similar to Earth but its strength is minuscule compared to us. Powerful magnetic tornadoes are formed when the magnetic field interferes with the solar wind. The planet’s magnetic field is about three times as strong in the northern hemisphere of the surface than in the southern.The Color Of Mercury Planet, Temperature, And Length Of DayThe color of Mercury can be described as grayish while the temperature varies to high and low extremes during a day.Since Mercury has a very thin atmosphere, it experiences extreme temperature changes throughout the day. The temperature can reach as high as 840 °F (448 °C) during the day while it reaches an extremely low temperature of -275 °F (-170.55 °C) at night. The change in temperature is the highest among any other planet in the solar system. There is no atmosphere to trap the heat and thus it escapes at night. You can imagine why it would be difficult for a human being to live on this surface of Mercury with its extreme climates. Further, the gravitational pull of the Sun will also make it very tough to step on the planet’s surface.The speed of the planet rotating on its axis is slower than the Earth. As a result, one day on Mercury lasts for 59 days on Earth. But it takes only 88 Earth days to complete a revolution around the sun due to its nearness to the star. It has the shortest year among all other planets. Mercury completes its orbit period the fastest. It is fascinating to note that a sunrise takes place on Mercury once in 180 Earth days. It takes only 3.2 minutes for sunlight to reach Mercury from the Sun.Did You KnowThere are several interesting Mercury facts, the planet closest to the Sun, that will amaze and delight people of all ages. Some of them have been given here.Mercury is the fastest planet as it orbits the Sun at a speed of 29 mips (46.67 kmps). It goes around the Sun faster than any other planet in the solar system. This is because is the closest planet along with being the smallest planet. Mercury’s rotation on its axis is unique as it completes three rotations for every two orbits of the Sun.Due to the high surface temperatures near the planet, it is very difficult to send probes to Mercury. Only two spacecraft have been able to reach the Mercury’s orbit, NASA’s Mariner 10 spacecraft and MESSENGER spacecraft. A third probe is set to reach the planet in December 2025.It is very difficult for us to spot the planet in the sky as it sets and rises quite close to the Sun. The small size of the planet is a further hindrance in this regard. It is a fact that the darker skies in the past helped people to see Mercury. But pollution has reduced visibility to a great extent. Still, Mercury is one of the five planets of the solar system that are visible to the human eye without the help of any telescope. The ancient Babylonians used the term Nabu for referring to Mercury. He was the messenger of Gods in their mythology. The Roman messenger God is the one after whom Mercury is named. In Greek mythology, there is mention of the planet where they thought there was an evening star and a morning star and in 500 BC, Heraclitus correctly estimated that Earth does not orbit the Sun but Venus and Mercury do.Mercury is the most cratered planet as it has no substantial atmosphere to stop the impact of meteors and asteroids. It does not self-heal as other planets do via natural geological processes. An asteroid measuring about 60 mi (100 km) wide struck the planet about 4 billion years ago. This created the Caloris Basin, which is the largest crater in Mercury having a width of 960 mi (1550 km). This crater is so large that the state of Texas can fit inside it.The MESSENGER probe has found water ice near the north pole of Mercury. It was a highly unexpected discovery as the planet faces so much heat from the Sun. It has been found that this region might be permanently shaded from the sun and the ice perhaps came from a comet or meteorite.The thin exosphere of Mercury is mostly a vacuum. It is formed from atoms blasted off Mercury’s surface by the solar wind, solar radiation, and meteoroid impacts. It consists of 29% sodium, 6% helium, 42% oxygen, 22% hydrogen, and some traces of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and potassium. The same solar winds mentioned earlier bring radioactive decay and new gases to the thin atmosphere.The eccentric orbit of Mercury and the nearness to the Sun have helped prove Einstein’s theory of relativity. The theory tells us the way in which the light of a star transforms when another star or planet orbits nearby. Radar signals reflected from Mercury confirmed what the theory predicted.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for facts about mercury: curious details on hottest planet in solar system, then why not take a look at are maple trees deciduous: identifying the various maple varieties or 15 fascinating ancient Greek culture facts for curious kids?
The first planet in the solar system, Mercury is one of the least explored planets as it is situated very close to the sun.
