Mercury has no atmosphere and no known satellites, perhaps because of its proximity to the sun. Mercury has no atmosphere and no known satellites, perhaps because of its proximity to the sun 4. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun but, perhaps surprisingly, it does not have the highest temperatures. Mercury is slightly larger than our moon 15,329 kilometres around its equator. Mercury, the innermost planet mercury is one of the least explored planets. Solar system nasa space place nasa science for kids. Scientists say messenger is shedding light mercurys surface. The diameter of planet mercury is 4,878 km 3,031 miles 5. The first mission to employ gravity assist, or using the gravity of a planet to alter a spacecrafts speed and trajectory to fly by its target planet, the mariner 10 mission flew by both venus and mercury, snapping photos and collecting data.
Mercury was found to be closer to a perfect sphere than is the earth. The discovery of an object larger than pluto in 2005 rekindled the debate over whether such objects, belonging to the kuiper belt. The first visit to mercury was a flyby made by the mariner 10 spacecraft in 1974. Its radius, the distance from the cores centre to the surface. The planet mercuryphotograph by nasajohns hopkins university applied physics. However, after the ouster of pluto from the category of planets, mercury has occupied the position of the smallest planet in our solar system. Mercury facts for kids interesting facts about planet. Interesting book, logical premise, nothing but the facts.
The outer planets are gas giants jupiter and saturn and ice giants uranus and neptune beyond neptune, a newer class of smaller worlds called dwarf planets reign, including perennial favorite pluto. Mercury is bright when it is visible from earth, ranging from. Mercury travels around the sun faster than any other planet. Comprehensively illustrated by closeup images and other data, the author describes mercury s landscapes from a. Mercury automobile, a make of car owned by the ford motor company. Sep 29, 2011 the latest discoveries by nasa s messenger spacecraft orbiting mercury have revealed some amazing looks at the small, rocky planet. Get the facts on mercury, the closest planet to the sun. Mercury is one of the four terrestrial planets, being a rocky body like the earth. Carolyn collins petersen is an astronomy expert and the author of seven books on space science. Nasa facts national aeronautics and space administration jet propulsion laboratory california institute of technology pasadena, ca 91109. It is about the same size as earths moon and is covered with craters where meteorites and asteroids have crashed into it. The latest discoveries by nasa s messenger spacecraft orbiting mercury have revealed some amazing looks at the small, rocky planet. The planet closest to the sun, mercury, is the subject of renewed attention among planetary scientists, as two major space missions will visit it within the next decade.
Mercury planet mercury is the closest planet to the sun. During the course of its orbit, the planet can get as close as 29 million miles to the sun, and at its farthest it can be 43 million miles from the sun. For every 2 orbits of the sun, which takes around 88 earth days, mercury completes three rotations of its axis. Mercury orbits the sun faster than any other planet. How do rovers help us learn more about the red planet. Exploring mercury in a new book state of the planet columbia. Mercury gets its name from the roman god of commerce, travel and industry. Visited only once in all the years of solar system exploration three brief flybys of mariner 10 during 197475, only about 45% of mercury s surface has been imaged from nearby. Dont panic when you peer from the porthole of your spaceship as it plummets to the surface of mercury. Named for the fleetfooted roman messenger god, mercury is the closest planet to.
Messenger was a nasa robotic spacecraft that orbited the planet mercury between 2011 and 2015, studying mercurys chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field. Mercury is the smallest and innermost planet in the solar system. Mercury planet, the solar system astronomical studies. If you are interested in the wonders of the universe, as planets, stars, black holes, theories, our solar system. Mercury is the smallest and fastest planet in the solar system. It is the smallest planet in our solar system and the closest planet to the sun. Mercury facts information, history, location, size. Nasa s messenger mission captured this colorized image of caloris basin on mercury. The last time it happened was ten years ago in 2006, and the next time will be nov. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and due to its proximity it is not easily seen except during twilight. This book will rocket mercury to the top of the must visit next planet list. Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system.
In the time it takes pluto to go around the sun once, 1028 years have passed on mercury. The planet mercury is very difficult to study from the earth because of its proximity to the sun. The outer planets are gas giants jupiter and saturn and ice giants uranus and neptune. In exploring mercury they have condensed all that is known to date about this enigmatic planet into a wellreferenced, eminently readable, accessible, and superbly illustrated monograph. Please rate if you decide to download this resource. Mercury is 4,878 km wide, making it only slightly bigger than our own moon. Mercury has the shortest and fastest orbit around the sun and experiences dramatic temperature changes as it rotates. Mercury fun facts cool kid facts fun facts for kids. The next of our interesting mercury facts tells us about just how fast its orbit is. With mercury being the closest planet to the sun, its very difficult to send spacecraft there to visit it, gather information and relay that back. It is the second densest planet of the solar system, but also the smallest planet. Sep 07, 2018 the planet mercury is named after the messenger of the roman gods because of its fleeting nature across the sky. Despite mercury being the closest planet to the sun, venus is the warmest planet. Explore facts about our solar systems fastest planet.
Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system and the closest to the sun. Mercury is the smallest of the eight planets and is closest to the sun. Mission to mercury get the facts on mercury, the closest planet to the sun. Here are 25 kickass and amazing facts about planets. May 12, 2020 mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system.
Image taken by messenger nasa jhu aplcarnegie inst. Thirteen times a century mercury can be observed from the earth passing across the face of the sun in an event. Nasas messenger site shares the 2011 planned spacecraft visit to mercury and. However, mercury has a very thin atmosphere, so the heat of the day escapes very quickly at nighttime. Missions mariner 10 nasa jet propulsion laboratory jpl. Beyond neptune, a newer class of smaller worlds called dwarf planets reign, including perennial favorite pluto.
Mercury is only slightly larger than the earths moon. Mercury facts for kids interesting facts about planet mercury. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and is also the smallest of the eight planets in our solar system. The planet mercury is a bit larger than the earths moon. It was named after mercury, the swift messenger of the gods in ancient roman mythology. Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system. Mercury, the barren planet closest to the sun, may seem like a dead world, but new images taken by a nasa probe nearing the end of its life reveal the planet may still be undergoing geological. The diameter of planet mercury is 4,878 km 3,031 miles. Mercury rotates on its axis with nearly no tilt whatsoever, meaning the planet experiences no seasons and there are places at the poles where sunlight never touches, blocked by steep crater walls.
Nov 30, 2004 mercury was found to be closer to a perfect sphere than is the earth. As of the beginning of the twentyfirst century, mariner 10 had been the only spacecraft to explore the planet. Mercury passes directly between the sun and earth about times every century. You havent taken a wrong turn and touched down on the moon. She previously worked on a hubble space telescope instrument team. All about mercury nasa space place nasa science for kids.
The planets unique 3d digital artworks present the planets as never before. Hot and barren with hardly any atmosphere, its rocky surface is covered in craters. Mercury programming language, a programming language. The book is a reflection of the fact that we had a very broad science. Mercury may be the closest planet to the sun but it experiences temperature changes that are the most extreme of any planet in the solar system, including dropping to 275 f170 c. The inner, rocky planets are mercury, venus, earth and mars. Doing justice to its name, mercury circles the sun in a mere 88 days, compared to 365 days for earth, and travels through space at nearly 50 kilometers 31 miles per second, faster than any other planet in. It is the second smallest planet and also the fastest in its orbit since it is the innermost planet. Between 1962 and late 1973, nasa s jet propulsion laboratory designed and built 10 spacecraft named mariner to explore the inner solar system visiting the planets venus, mars and mercury for the first time, and returning to venus and mars for additional close observations. The red planet is dusty, cold world with a thin atmosphere and is home to four nasa robots. Mariner 10 nasa flyby mission to venus and mercury 1973 messenger nasa orbiter to mercury 2004 bepicolombo esajaxa orbiter mission to mercury 2018 data.
It is a small world only slightly larger than earths moon. Mercury is shrinking and 4 other facts weve learned. May 03, 2016 its the planet mercury, making a rare transit of the sun. The nine planets of the solar system eight planets without pluto. Mercury in full color as seen by the messenger spacecraft on its first approach to the planet. Nasas mariner 10 mission flew past the tiny world three times in the.
It cannot be easily seen as it is usually too close to the sun. Mercury may mean mercury mythology, the roman god mercury planet, the first planet from the sun in our solar system mercury element, the chemical element or atom project mercury, the first human spaceflight program by the united states nasa. On thursday, after four years of orbiting mercury, nasa s messenger probe is going to crash violently into the planets surface. Mercury, named for the fastfooted roman messenger of the gods, is the closest planet to the sun. Next to the planet pluto, mercury is one of the least explored planets within our solar system. Mercury mercury is the innermost and second smallest planet 4,878 kilometers 3,024 miles in diameter in the solar system 1 pluto is the smallest. Earlier, pluto held the record for being the smallest planet in the solar system.
It is a terrestrial planet, which means it is an earthlike planet made up of rocks or metals and has a hard surface. Mercury is the fastestorbiting planet in our solar system. The following is from the solar system nasa asep, 1989, p. In addition to its wealth of visual detail, the planets also details essential facts in fresh, colorful infographics, timelines that track our relationship with each planet, and a directory that contains the mustknow information about major solar system objects and space missions. Five facts about mercury, the planet closest to our sun. For every two orbits of the sun, mercury completes three rotations about its axis and up until 1965 it was thought that the same side of mercury constantly faced the sun. Apr 20, 2015 the closest planet to the sun, mercury is also the smallest planet in the solar system. Mercury s dayside is superheated by the sun, but at night temperatures drop hundreds of degrees below freezing. Strange hollows on mercury revealed by nasa probe as. The 2016 transit of mercury science mission directorate. Mercury facts interesting facts about planet mercury. Images of mercury catalog of spaceborne imaging images of mercury nssdca photo gallery.
Nasa johns hopkins university applied physics laboratorycarnegie institution of washington. Comprehensively illustrated by closeup images and other data, the author describes mercurys landscapes from a. Jupiter is a massive planet, twice the size of all. Find out the reason behind its incredible speed, if it is indeed the hottest planet. Like the moon, mercury has very little atmosphere to stop impacts and it is covered with craters. According to nasa, its chemical composition is thought to be as follows. Mercury is the fastest moving planet in our solar system and is the nearest planet to the sun.
Cosmos space planets space and astronomy nasa saturn planet astronomy facts planets and moons dwarf planet outer space our solar system officially has eight planets and one star. Scientists say messenger is shedding light mercury. Astronomers have discovered a planet where it rains glass silicate sideways, in howling 7,000kmperhour winds. Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system 2.
The name is a backronym for mercury surface, space environment, geochemistry, and ranging, and a reference to the messenger god mercury from roman mythology. For every 2 orbits of the sun, which takes around 88 earth days, mercury. During the day, temperatures can reach a blistering 806 f 430 c, which is hot enough to melt lead. Sunscorched mercury, the smallest planet in our solar system, is only slightly larger than earths moon.
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