Mercury

Mercury is the nearest planet to the Sun. Mercury has a cratered surface, which was baked by the Sun. The temperature at this planet can be 800°F that is about 430°C at day time and can be -275°F which is about -170°C at night time.

(Taken by the Mariner 10 on March 29, 1974, NASA, Courtesy of NASA)

Mercury is actually grey even if some people say it’s red or brown. Any red or brown or other coloured photos of Mercury isn't the original colour!

Mercury has got no moon(s) at all. It has a lot of craters like our Moon. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, so it orbits the Sun quickly. It takes Mercury only about 90 days to orbit the sun. Because Mercury is a little planet and is the nearest to the Sun it has almost no air (atmosphere) at all. There are about 13-14 transits from Mercury in 100 years. Transits of Mercury can only happen in May or November. There was a Mercury transit in May 2003 and in November 2006. The transit of Mercury in 16^th November 1999 was a very unusual transit and also a dangerous one. This is because Mercury crossed the Sun very close to the Sun’s surface. If it did touch the Sun’s surface then Mercury wouldn’t be round any more or worse it could have been gone. Mercury is the second smallest planet in our Solar-System.

Facts:
Symbol:

Colour: Grey

Diameter: 4,878 KM (3,032 miles) 0.38 x Earth’s

Mass: 0.33x10^24 kilograms (0.06 x Earth's)

Density: 5,427 kg/m^3 (Cubic meter)

Minimum distance from the Sun: 46.0 million km (28.6 million miles)

Maximum distance from the Sun: 69.8 million km (43.4 million miles)

Minimum distance from the Earth: 77.3 million km (48.0 million miles)

Roman and Greek Names: Mercury and Hermes

Surface:

Time taken to spin once: 59 Days

Temperature: 430°C (day), -170°C (night)

Time to go around the Sun once: 0.24 years (88 days)

Moon(s): 0 named, 0 coded & all together none