Welcome to Mercury
Where the fun begins
Welcome to Mercury!
Mercury is the closest planet to the sun it completes three rotations about its axis and up until 1965 it was thought that the same side of Mercury constantly faced the Sun.A year on Mercury is just 88 days long it is nearly tidally locked to the Sun and over time this has slowed the rotation of the planet to almost match its orbit around the Sun. Mercury also has the highest orbital eccentricity of all the planets with its distance from the Sun ranging from 46 to 70 million km.Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System Mercury is just 4,879 Kilometres across its equator, compared with 12,742 Kilometres for the Earth.Mercury is the second densest planet Each cubic centimetre has a density of 5.4 grams, with only the Earth having a higher density. This is largely due to Mercury being composed mainly of heavy metals and rock.Mercury is only the second hottest planet the surface of Mercury which faces the Sun sees temperatures of up to 427°C, whilst on the alternate side this can be as low as -173°C. This is due to the planet having no atmosphere to help regulate the temperature.
Mercury's Information
Mass: 330,104,000,000,000 billion kg (0.055 x Earth)
Equatorial Diameter: 4,879
Polar Diameter: 4,879
Equatorial Circumference: 15,329 km
Known Moons: none
Notable Moons: none
Orbit Distance: 57,909,227 km (0.39 AU)
Orbit Period: 87.97 Earth days
Surface Temperature: -173 to 427°C
First Record: 14th century BC
Recorded By: Assyrian astronomers
Transportation to Mercury
- Rocket ship
- Sling-shot
Comedy Club
Want to have a laugh? try the comedy club where comedians from all over the world come in and share some classic jokes. *Admission is free*