-Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System (excluding Pluto).
-Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun. However, it still ranges from 46 million kilometres - 69.8 million kilometres away from the Sun.
-Unlike Earth and most of the other planets, Mercury turns very slowly on its axis, taking 59 days to complete the turn from day to night.
-Mercury is the second densest planet. Each cubic centimetre has a density of 5.4 grams. This is due to Mercury being composed mainly of heavy metals and rock.
-The planet is 2/3 metallic and 1/3 silicone or rock.
-Mercury has wrinkles. As the iron core of the planet cooled and contracted, the planet's surface became wrinkled. Scientists have named these wrinkles, Lobate Scarps. These Scarps can be up to a mile high and hundreds of miles long.
-NASA scientists believe the solid iron core of Mercury could be molten. Normally the core of smaller planets cools rapidly, but the results from Mercury weren't expected after an extensive research. They now believe the core contains a lighter element such as sulphur, which would lower the melting temperature of the core material. It's estimated Mercury's core makes up 42% of its volume, while Earth's core makes up to 17%.
-Mercury is the second hottest planet. Despite being further from the Sun, Venus experiences higher temperatures. The Mercury's surface which faces the Sun sees temperatures of up to 427°C, while the alternate side can be as low as -173°C. This is due to a planet having no atmosphere to help regular the temperature.
-Since Mercury has no atmosphere, there is no wind or weather.
-There is no water on the surface of Mercury, it is possible that there is water underneath the surface.
-The surface of Mercury is very similar to our moon. It has a very barren, rocky surface covered with many craters.
-Mercury has the most craters in the Solar System, with approximately 763 craters. Any crater larger than 250km in diameter is referred to as a Basin.
- The Caloris Basin is the largest impact crater on Mercury, covering approximately 1,550km in diameter and was discovered in 1974 by the Mariner 10 probe. It's one of the biggest impact sites in the solar system and the largest feature on Mercury's surface. It's so large in fact, that scientists believe this collision actually reshaped the topography on the opposite side of the planet.
-Like the moon, Mercury has no plate tectonics and is geologically inactive.
-Only 2 spacecrafts have visited Mercury. In 1974, Mariner 10 flew by Mercury 3 times, mapping just under half of the planet's surface.
The second mission to Mercury, the NASA Messenger made its first flight in January 2008. This probe, using high-resolution camera that didn't exist in the 1970s, was mapping areas on the planet never seen before. Messenger continued flying around Mercury until 2011.
-Mercury is named for the Roman messenger to the god. The exact date of Mercury's discovery is unknown as it pre-dates its first historical mention, one of the first mentions of being by the Sumerians around in 3,000 BC.
-Mercury has just 38% the gravity of Earth, this is too little to hold on to what atmosphere it has which is blown away by solar winds. However, while gases escape into space, they are constantly being replenished at the same time by the same solar winds, radioactive decay and dust caused by micrometeorites.
-The sunlight on Mercury is 6.5 times as intense as Earth's sunlight. It's so intense that some astronomers believe it has actually eroded the surface of the planet for billions of years.
Sources:
http://space-facts.com/mercury/
http://www.planetsforkids.org/planet-mercury.html
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/planets/mercury.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KY-oB2i9lo
-Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun. However, it still ranges from 46 million kilometres - 69.8 million kilometres away from the Sun.
-Unlike Earth and most of the other planets, Mercury turns very slowly on its axis, taking 59 days to complete the turn from day to night.
-Mercury is the second densest planet. Each cubic centimetre has a density of 5.4 grams. This is due to Mercury being composed mainly of heavy metals and rock.
-The planet is 2/3 metallic and 1/3 silicone or rock.
-Mercury has wrinkles. As the iron core of the planet cooled and contracted, the planet's surface became wrinkled. Scientists have named these wrinkles, Lobate Scarps. These Scarps can be up to a mile high and hundreds of miles long.
-NASA scientists believe the solid iron core of Mercury could be molten. Normally the core of smaller planets cools rapidly, but the results from Mercury weren't expected after an extensive research. They now believe the core contains a lighter element such as sulphur, which would lower the melting temperature of the core material. It's estimated Mercury's core makes up 42% of its volume, while Earth's core makes up to 17%.
-Mercury is the second hottest planet. Despite being further from the Sun, Venus experiences higher temperatures. The Mercury's surface which faces the Sun sees temperatures of up to 427°C, while the alternate side can be as low as -173°C. This is due to a planet having no atmosphere to help regular the temperature.
-Since Mercury has no atmosphere, there is no wind or weather.
-There is no water on the surface of Mercury, it is possible that there is water underneath the surface.
-The surface of Mercury is very similar to our moon. It has a very barren, rocky surface covered with many craters.
-Mercury has the most craters in the Solar System, with approximately 763 craters. Any crater larger than 250km in diameter is referred to as a Basin.
- The Caloris Basin is the largest impact crater on Mercury, covering approximately 1,550km in diameter and was discovered in 1974 by the Mariner 10 probe. It's one of the biggest impact sites in the solar system and the largest feature on Mercury's surface. It's so large in fact, that scientists believe this collision actually reshaped the topography on the opposite side of the planet.
-Like the moon, Mercury has no plate tectonics and is geologically inactive.
-Only 2 spacecrafts have visited Mercury. In 1974, Mariner 10 flew by Mercury 3 times, mapping just under half of the planet's surface.
The second mission to Mercury, the NASA Messenger made its first flight in January 2008. This probe, using high-resolution camera that didn't exist in the 1970s, was mapping areas on the planet never seen before. Messenger continued flying around Mercury until 2011.
-Mercury is named for the Roman messenger to the god. The exact date of Mercury's discovery is unknown as it pre-dates its first historical mention, one of the first mentions of being by the Sumerians around in 3,000 BC.
-Mercury has just 38% the gravity of Earth, this is too little to hold on to what atmosphere it has which is blown away by solar winds. However, while gases escape into space, they are constantly being replenished at the same time by the same solar winds, radioactive decay and dust caused by micrometeorites.
-The sunlight on Mercury is 6.5 times as intense as Earth's sunlight. It's so intense that some astronomers believe it has actually eroded the surface of the planet for billions of years.
Sources:
http://space-facts.com/mercury/
http://www.planetsforkids.org/planet-mercury.html
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/planets/mercury.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KY-oB2i9lo