![]() This would give Mercury relatively thin mantle and crust layers. It is believed that Mercury's dense iron core is larger than Earth's and likely compromises most of the planet itself. If you count the force of gravitational compression, then Earth is the most dense. Mercury is the most dense planet in our solar system when not accounting for gravitational compression. In some parts of Mercury, these lava flows have "buried" ancient scarred terrain producing a smoother surface which has not been greatly pock-marked by meteors yet. With Mercury's orbital-rotational resonance ratio at 3:2 and highly elliptical orbit, an observer at certain latitudes could watch the Sun rise, move directly overhead and stop, retrograde back, then proceed back on its westward track.įly-bys by the Mariner 10 spacecraft in 1974 and '75 and recent photos from the Mercury Messenger reveal a cratered surface, marked with cliffs and ridges very much like our Moon's. In addition, since Mercury has virtually no atmosphere to scatter light, the sky would be black, even though the Sun's disk itself would be over twice as large as what we observe from the Earth. The average temperature on Mercury is a balmy 354 degrees F. It is understood that the sunny side may reach temperatures of 750 to 800 degrees F., while the nighttime temperature plummets to nearly -330 degrees F. Therefore Mercury's very long solar day, close proximity to the Sun and very thin atmosphere, all combine to produce the largest diurnal temperature spread in our solar system. All other planets in our solar system have a ratio of 1:1. Why is this? Mercury's orbital-rotational resonance ratio is 3:2. However a fictitious observer on Mercury would see that its actual length of day from sunrise to sunrise would take about about 176 Earth days to complete due to perspective. First, as stated above, Mercury rotates on its axis every 59 days relative to fixed stars such as our Sun. In fact, Mercury has the largest diurnal temperature spread of any planet in our solar system. These atoms are then believed to be replenished by the solar wind and possibly through "outgassing", which is the release of gas from a solid substance and increases as temperatures warm.ĭue to the tenuous atmosphere, Mercury really has no weather to speak of other than wild fluctuations in temperature. Mercury's atmospheric atoms are continuously being lost to space. The sparse atmosphere is primarily composed of oxygen, sodium and hydrogen. For all practical purposes, the atmosphere is nearly a vacuum. Mercury is one of only three planets in our solar system which has a perfect circular sphere (the other two being Venus and Pluto).Ītmosphere and Weather: Mercury has an extremely thin and non-protective atmosphere. Therefore Mercury completes three rotations for every two orbits around the Sun. It revolves around the Sun every 88 days, but its rotation takes nearly 59 days. Mercury - In Depth - For Teens and AdultsĪt an average distance of 36 million miles, Mercury is the closest planet to our Sun.National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): We recommend for facts about Mercury that you check out the following pages provided by the U.S. Editor's Notice: The content found on this page has been found outdated and we will be deleting this page soon. ![]()
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