Mercury!
By: Akshara Ganesh
General info:
- darkish/lightish-gray
- No atmosphere
- not hottest planet
- 2nd densest planet
- named after the Roman version of the Greek god, Hermes.(the Messenger God)
- no moons.
Facts
Orbit and Position
- Aphelion
- Perihelion
- innermost and smallest planet
- oval orbit
Surface
- Craters
- Lobate scarps
- Surface temperature
Lobate Scarps
- wrinkles
- long and high (a mile high, 100 miles long)
- iron core cooled and contracted
Craters
- Caloris Basin (1550 km in diameter)
- contact with comets and asteroids
Surface temperature
- -173 to 427 degrees Celsius
Layers
- 5 layers
- made of heavy metals (mainly iron)
- mantle, and crust is 300-400 miles thick
- core is 42% of it's volume
Spacecrafts
- 2 spacecrafts
- Mariner 10 (1974-1975, 3 times), and Messenger probe (2004, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station)
Fun Facts
- molten core
- discovery date and person unknown (Galileo-telescope)
- first record was in 14th century BC
- no air
- dry surface
Bibliography
Info:
Sheridan, Kerry. "Mercury, the Smallest Planet, Is Getting Even Smaller, Scientists Say."National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 16 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
"Mercury Facts." Space Facts RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
"Astronomy For Kids - KidsAstronomy.com." Astronomy For Kids - KidsAstronomy.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
"Discovery of Planet Mercury." Universe Today RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
"The Inner Planets: Mercury at Aphelion – In-The-Sky.org." The Inner Planets: Mercury at Aphelion – In-The-Sky.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
Videos:
"The Planet Mercury." YouTube. YouTube, 27 May 2009. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
"Mercury's Day, Year and Surface Temperature HD." YouTube. YouTube, 04 Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
"Mercury (Spectacular Surface)." YouTube. YouTube, 16 Oct. 2013. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
"MESSENGER Mission to Mercury." YouTube. YouTube, 06 Jan. 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.