Mercury
By: Stacy Hong
Mercury's Location
Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and it is the eighth largest planet, which is also the second smallest planet in the solar system. Mercury orbits around 57,910,000 kilometers away from the sun.
Mercury's Movement
Mercury's movement turns exactly one and a half times every time it goes around the sun. The reason why a day on Mercury is twice longer than a year is because it turns on one side toward the sun in one orbit and it turns on the other side toward the sun in one orbit. Mercury orbits once every 58.647 days, so it turns on its axis exactly 1 1/2 times during once a year.
Mercury's Physical Properties
Mercury's surface is heavily cratered and old, and it has no plate tectonics on it. Mercury has a very thin field exosphere that contains atoms that were blasted off its solar wind. Mercury also has a small magnetic field. Mercury's temperature can reach up to about 801 degrees Fahrenheit and in the night time, it can go down to about -279 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fun Facts
Its diameter is 4,880 kilometers and its mass is 0.055 Earth's mass. Mercury is the second densest planet following right behind Earth and it is because Mercury's iron core's radius is 1,800 to 1,900 kilometers, which is much more bigger than Earths.